Putin's Rating Plummeted To A Record Low

After the shock increase in housing and utility rates.

Shock utility rate hikes, mass Internet shutdowns and fading hopes for a deal on Ukraine with the United States - have hit the Russian government's approval ratings, writes The Moscow Times.

President Vladimir Putin's approval rating dropped by 4 percentage points in the week from June 29 to July 6, from 83% to 79%, according to a poll by the Public Opinion Foundation (FOM).

The drop in Putin's rating was the most significant since September-October 2022, when he lost 5 points per week amid mobilization. The president's approval rating also fell by 4 points - from 82% to 78%, which FOM statistics have not recorded since last fall.

At the same time, the government approval rating dropped from 57% to 52%, the lowest level since the beginning of the year, and the share of those who "poorly" assess the work of Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin set a maximum since last December (13%).

The decline in Putin's rating is due to new factors of discomfort - airline collapse, Internet shutdowns, difficulties with card payments, and in addition, affected the rise in prices for utilities, because the first payments for July came just this week, says co-founder and leading expert of the European Center for Analysis and Strategies Vladislav Inozemtsev.

On average, tariffs in Russia rose by 13.4% on July 1 - a record for the decade, and in some regions the indexation was even higher: by 15% - in Moscow, by 18.3% - in the Moscow region, by 19.8% - in Kuzbass, by 20% - in the Arkhangelsk region, by 21% - in the Perm region. The all-Russian record was set by Izhevsk, where tariffs soared by 38% overnight.

"The increase in tariffs has been much greater than the rate of inflation: people realize that the authorities are squeezing the last out of them without any shame," Inozemtsev told The Moscow Times. - "In general, the war is gradually penetrating into everyday life - and perhaps the population has begun to realize that these are its consequences and not just 'objective factors'."

Politologist Abbas Galliamov notes that the tariffs in the current situation are perceived as one of the proofs of the fact that the country cannot withstand the burden of war.

Putin's falling rating was the result of a quarrel with Donald Trump, Galliamov said. "Russians felt deceived: they had hoped that both the SWO and the period of international tensions in general were moving toward their end, and then suddenly they realized that no end to it all was in sight," Galliamov told The Moscow Times.

You can support the website Charter97.org

MULTI-CURRENCY ACCOUNT FOR ASSISTANCE:

Bank's name: Bank Millennium S.A.
Address: ul. Stanislawa Zaryna, 2A, 02-593, Warszawa
IBAN: PL97116022020000000216711123
SWIFT: BIGBPLPW
Name of the account holder: Fundacja “KARTA ‘97”
Purpose/title of payment: Donation for statuary aims

You can contact us by the e-mail charter97@gmail.com