A new poll indicates that Russian President Vladimir Putin has maintained strong public support in spite of the poor performance of the Russian military in its invasion of Ukraine and Kyiv’s expected counter-offensive operations.
The poll, released Wednesday by the independent Levada Center, asked Russians if they approve of Mr. Putin’s activities as president. About 82% said they approve of his performance, and 15% said they don’t.
The Levada Center results have been relatively consistent since December 2022, when 81% of Russians told pollsters they approved of Mr. Putin.
The poll results follow what appears to be the first call on state-approved TV for Mr. Putin to be replaced. Russian opposition leader Boris Nedezhdin on May 27 called for a new president to be elected in 2024 in order to “rebuild normal relations with Europe” on Russia’s NTV channel.
Since the start of the invasion of Ukraine, the Kremlin has cracked down on freedom of speech to a level not seen since the Soviet era, British military intelligence officials said Thursday.
Recent anti-establishment rhetoric by nationalist figures like Wagner Group owner Yevgeny Prigozhin may be emboldening opposition figures such as Mr. Nedezhdin to publicly challenge such taboo topics, U.K. military intelligence officials said in their latest assessment of the battlefield.
• Mike Glenn can be reached at mglenn@washingtontimes.com.
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