Putin's approval rating drops 1.9 points despite VCIOM methodology change

Russia's state pollster VCIOM recorded a 1.9 percentage point drop in President Vladimir Putin's approval rating compared to the previous week. The decline comes even after VCIOM altered its survey methodology, which failed to halt the downward trend.

Russia's state-run polling organisation VCIOM (All-Russian Centre for the Study of Public Opinion) has recorded a notable decline in Vladimir Putin's approval rating, with the figure falling by 1.9 percentage points compared to the previous week.

The drop is particularly significant given that VCIOM recently revised its survey methodology — a change widely seen as an attempt to produce more favourable results for the Kremlin. Despite the adjustment, the downward trend in public support for the Russian president has continued.

While VCIOM's figures are frequently treated with scepticism by independent analysts due to the organisation's close ties to the Russian government, even state-controlled polling data showing a decline is considered a notable signal about the domestic mood in Russia.

The reasons behind the fall in ratings have not been officially elaborated upon, but observers point to growing war fatigue among the Russian population, economic pressures caused by prolonged Western sanctions, and rising casualties from the ongoing conflict in Ukraine as potential contributing factors.