MOSCOW, May 15 (RIA Novosti) – The approval rating of Russian President Vladimir Putin has reached 85.9 percent, a six-year high, according to polling data by the All-Russian Center for the Study of Public Opinion (VTsIOM).
"The approval of the actions of the President of the Russian Federation has been growing for five consecutive months already. Since April, Putin's rating rose from 82.2 percent to 85.9 percent, and since the beginning of the year – by more than a third,” the pollster said.
“Thus, this figure is virtually identical to the one recorded six years ago,” the statement said, adding that the figure had only been higher once, in April 2008.
The high level of approval of the president is closely connected to the difficult situation in Ukraine, with some 52 percent of the respondents in the last week calling the events a major factor, as well as the Victory Day holiday (34 percent).
Support of the United Russia party has grown significantly over the past few months – from 41.7 percent in January to 60.4 percent in early May, also a six-year high, according to VTsIOM.
The opinion poll was conducted by VTsIOM May 10-11 across Russia. Some 1,600 people in 42 Russian regions participated in the survey.
