Russia Monitor is a review of the most important events related to Russian internal and external security, as well as its foreign policies.
Date: 11 October 2021
Russians Have More Trust In Army Than In Putin
The fall in Vladimir Putin’s popularity ratings is bucking the trend. So is that of the public trust in the army yet it came first in the popularity ratings. The trust in secret services is also falling dramatically but is far higher than that for the Orthodox Church and media outlets. This shows that the Russian regime is now redoing so state authorities resort to fraudulent, manipulative, and forcible practices more often than before.
According to a survey by the independent Levada Center, which released the results on October 6, public trust in the president fell to 53 percent. It has not been lower since October 2012 (51 percent). It was 71 percent in September 2017. At its peak, public trust in the president was 80 percent in 2015 following Russia’s annexation of Crimea from Ukraine that eventually elicited a wave of euphoria across the country. Putin’s ratings have been hit by an unpopular retirement-age increase as well as broader economic woes, and household wealth levels that are also lower than at any time since 2012. Other state agencies are seeing a more dramatic decline in their trust ratings. Levada’s new poll showed a decrease in trust for the lower chamber of the parliament, the State Duma — from 33 percent in 2017 to 25 percent now. The level of trust dropped as a result of the campaign of the recent fraudulent vote. The public trust in political parties also went down from 19 percent in 2017 to 17 percent now. People in Russia show the most trust in the army (61 percent). Those behind the president, who came second, are secret services (45 percent), Orthodox Church and religious organizations (40 percent), charities, and media outlets (36 percent each). Some 33 percent of Russians show trust in the government. Among those that the Russians trust least are political parties (17 percent), big business (18 percent), trade unions (20 percent), State Duma (25 percent), and the Federation Council (25 percent). Although the top trusted institutions are still dominated by power structures, this too shows a steady decline in support. The poll displayed a drop in trust for the army––from 69 percent in 2017 to 61 percent now. In 2017 the FSB and other secret services enjoyed 61 percent support compared to 45 percent now, marking a profound decline in trust.
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