Approval of US Leadership Among Russians Hits Record Low of 1%

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The rate of approval of the US leadership among the Russian public in 2015 has dropped to the lowest figure ever recorded, standing at just 1 percent, a poll revealed Thursday.

The market research company Gallup has been polling respondents worldwide on whether they approve or disapprove of the US leadership for the past decade.

"The current record-low rating of 1% in Russia reflects the increasingly tense relations with the U.S. since the crisis in Ukraine and the threat that many Russians, as well as residents of several former Soviet states, feel the U.S. now poses to their countries," the company said.

According to the poll, Commonwealth of Independent State (CIS) countries dominated the list of countries that approve of the US administration least in 2015, with only 9 percent of Belarusian respondents and 8 percent of Kazakhs expressing support for the US leadership. Palestinians also showed a single-digit level of support for the authorities in Washington, with just 9 percent of respondents expressing approval.

The US leadership's global approval rating in 2015 remained steady at 45 percent, according to the poll results. The highest approval rating was found in Africa, where support averaged 59-percent. The support rate has also slightly improved in Europe and the Americas, reaching 46 percent and 47 percent, accordingly. In Asia, public approval of the US leadership stayed essentially the same at 38 percent.