Russians Losing Trust in Government and Putin – Poll

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – October 13, 2016)

Trust in Russia’s government has plummeted by almost half in the past year, a survey by the independent pollster Levada Center revealed Thursday.

Just 26 percent of respondents said that they trusted Russia’s government, down from 45 percent in 2015, the Interfax news agency reported. Only 22 percent said that they had confidence in the country’s State Duma, despite elections being held in September. The figure is down from 40 percent last year.

Russian President Vladimir Putin remains the country’s most trusted institution, but even he was hit by falling levels of confidence.

Seventy-four percent of respondents said that they had faith in Putin’s work- a drop from the 80 percent polled 12 months ago.

Only one in four (27 percent) said that they trusted the media, while 43 percent had faith in the church. Last year, the figures stood at 34 percent and 53 percent respectively.

Corruption scandals in Russia’s Investigative Committee may have also hit public opinion hard. Just 24 percent of respondents said that they trusted the police, a decrease from last year’s 29 percent.

The Prosecutor’s Office remains trusted by 24 percent of Russians – down from 37 percent last year – while 22 percent said that they believed in the country’s court system. Twenty-nine percent of Russians had held similar views in 2015.

The survey questioned 1,600 Russians in 137 settlements between Sept. 23-26.