Kommersant: “Medvedev and Putin’s Job Approval Ratings Up Despite Financial Crisis”
Despite negative tendencies in the Russian economy, people trust President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin more than they did a month ago. A poll conducted by analysts at the Levada Centre showed that the approval ratings of Mr Medvedev and Mr Putin have grown since last month, when people started talking about the financial crisis and the euphoria caused by Russia's victory in the Georgian-Ossetian conflict started to recede.
In November, 78% of Russians approved of President Medvedev's actions. The President's job approval rating has increased by 2% since October, and slightly surpassed the results of the period from May to August, when it was 73%.
Mr Putin's rating increased by three points, from 83% in October to 86%. It is also higher than the results of the period from May to August, when it was 83%.
Despite the growing popularity of the Putin-Medvedev tandem, people feel pessimistic about the situation in the country. Only 49% of respondents believe that things are going well; it is the lowest result since the beginning of Mr Medvedev's presidency. Almost one third of Russians (30%) think that the current situation in the country will lead us to a dead end, while 22% had no response.
