The prime minister's rating is bolstered by a lack of alternatives.
As many as 34% of Russians trust Vladimir Putin, primarily because they see no clear alternative, according to a survey by the Levada Centre. Another third of the respondents trust the Prime Minister because they hope he will do a better job in future.
Analysts say this will not influence the outcome of the 2012 presidential elections.
"There are no high-profile politicians in Russia who are independent of the Kremlin. The only such politician left from the stormy 1990s is Vladimir Zhirinovsky," said Stanislav Belkovsky, the director of the National Strategy Institute. "At the same time, it would be unwise to have an unshakeable faith in the polls, as ratings are not very important in the absence of real political competition."
The survey conducted by the FOM agency shows that even last summer's wildfires have not affected Putin's rating. The respondents in the regions most affected by the fires rated the prime minister at around 4 on a five-point scale, ranging from 3.19 in Mari El to 4.32 in Mordovia.
The poll was conducted before Putin made his flight onboard the Emergencies Ministry's B-200 fire-fighting plane, which the respondents have yet to assess. But Belkovsky said the public is unlikely to be highly impressed by the gesture.
"The flight Putin made in one of Russia's four fire-fighting planes was senseless; it cannot bolster the people's trust," he said.
There is evidence that the elite groups with close ties to the authorities are becoming tired of the government's policy.
"Any high-profile politician, should he or she appear on the scene in the near future, would get high ratings just as quickly," Belkovsky said, adding that the choice of the new leader will depend upon the interests of the elite and not upon the polls.
Alexei Gorbachev