JRL NEWSWATCH: “Russians’ trust in Putin has plummeted. But that’s not the Kremlin’s only problem. The real bad news is that, increasingly, Russians are refusing to answer the survey question at all.” – Washington Post/ Samuel A. Greene
“According to … Russia[] … polling agenc[y] [WCIOM], trust in [Putin] has fallen to an all-time low … 31.7 percent. … [T]he economy struggles … real disposable incomes look set to decline for the sixth straight year[;] the bloom is very much off the Crimean rose. After some [Kremlin] consternation … the same agency released a new survey using a different method … yielding a number almost twice as high. Even Putin’s job approval figures … are 20 points off their highs. The real bad news for Putin … what the polls aren’t showing: Russians are clamming up. * * * … [T]he number of people telling WCIOM … they don’t trust him remains virtually flat. More people are avoiding the question. … [T]he gap … begins to tell the real story of current Russian politics. … [P]ollsters ask[ing] … about trust or approval … [provide] a third option: decline to answer …. The number of people … who clam up when asked whether they trust Putin – declined dramatically after Crimea, but it has grown rapidly in recent months. But the number of people refusing to answer the ‘approval’ question has gone in the opposite direction. … therein lies the rub for Putin. …”
Click here for: “Russians’ trust in Putin has plummeted. But that’s not the Kremlin’s only problem. The real bad news is that, increasingly, Russians are refusing to answer the survey question at all.” – Washington Post/ Samuel A. Greene