Putin Support Drops Sharply To Historic Low After Disputed Election

Putin Support Drops Sharply To Historic Low After Disputed Election

MOSCOW -(Dow Jones)- Support for Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin dropped sharply to its lowest ever level after parliamentary elections that were harshly criticized by opposition politicians and large outdoor protests nationwide, according to the first polls published since the vote.

The approval rating for Putin, who is seeking the presidency in March, tumbled 10 percentage points to 51% in a poll conducted Dec. 10-11, about a week after the Dec. 4 parliamentary elections. President Dmitry Medvedev's approval rating dropped almost as much, to 51% from 60% in late November, according to the poll from the All-Russian Center for the Study of Public Opinion. Only 42% of respondents said they would vote for Putin in presidential elections, a result that suggests he might need a second round of voting in the election to seal a third term in the Kremlin.

Another poll released Friday, conducted by the Public Opinion Foundation, found trust in Putin hit an all-time low of 44% on Dec. 11, down from as much as 70% in 2008, before the financial crisis hit the country.

Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov blamed the poll readings on "emotional overload" in the post-election period and said that despite volatility Putin's support remains at a "sufficiently high level" and will probably rise soon, the Interfax news agency reported.

Public disapproval for Putin appears to have lost some of its taboo, with tens of thousands of protesters gathering in central Moscow on Saturday to protest elections they say were riddled with fraud.

Putin's United Russia party dominated the opposition with nearly 50% of the popular vote, but support varied widely among election precincts. In the republic of Chechnya, where Moscow fought bitter wars with separatists, United Russia got about 99.5% of the vote, a result that some critics have said is hard to swallow.

Putin on Thursday said the election represented the real views of the electorate, and officials have said isolated complaints about irregularities are being investigated.

-By William Mauldin, Dow Jones Newswires; +7 495 232-9192, william.mauldin@ dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires

12-16-110401ET

Copyright (c) 2011 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.

Putin's approval falls to year's low: Russian poll

By Steve Gutterman

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's approval rating has dropped to its lowest level of the year in the first opinion poll published since his ruling party suffered an election setback and he faced the biggest protests of his 12-year rule.

A poll conducted on December 10-11 and released Friday showed 51 percent of Russians approved of how he has done his job, down from 61 percent in a November 28-29 survey and 68 percent in January, state pollster VTsIOM said.

The poll highlighted discontent and fatigue with the 59-year-old leader as he prepares for a presidential election in March which he is widely expected to win, but not as easily as seemed likely a month ago and perhaps not in the first round.

Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, suggested the decline was the result of "emotional overload" among Russians following the election and said his approval rating would swiftly recover.

"On the whole Vladimir Putin's rating remains on quite a high level, while there are fluctuations," Interfax news agency quoted Peskov as saying.

"These days are characterized by an emotional overload linked to the post-election period. But the real state of affairs indicates there are grounds to expect an increase in the premier's rating in the very near future."

Tens of thousands of people protested last Saturday to call for the rerun of the December 4 parliamentary election which opponents say was rigged to benefit the ruling United Russia party. Many protesters also said they were fed up with Putin.

Political analysts say Putin angered many Russians when he revealed a plan to switch jobs next year with President Dmitry Medvedev, the protege he steered into the Kremlin when he was barred from seeking a third term after his 2000-2008 presidency.

The decision, revealed at a September congress of United Russia, deepened feelings of disenfranchisement among Russians who believe they have no influence in a political system dominated by Putin and his party.

FIRST-ROUND VICTORY IN DOUBT?

Voters sharply reduced United Russia's parliamentary majority on December 4 but opponents say that even the party's return of 49.3 percent was inflated by fraud. International monitors also said the vote was slanted to favor United Russia.

In a marathon question-and-answer session televised live nationwide Thursday, Putin said he believed the results were in line with public opinion and made clear he would not bow to protesters' demands for a new election.

Speaking to reporters after Thursday's call-in show, Putin said the plan to make Medvedev prime minister after the presidential vote remained in place, and call United Russia's result a clear victory despite the diminished majority.

Putin had charged Medvedev with leading United Russia into the election and hinted a poor performance might make him turn to someone else to head the government if he is elected president.

The VTsIOM poll put Putin far ahead of the pack in the presidential election, with 42 percent of respondents saying they would vote for Putin. Next was Communist Party leader Gennady Zyuganov, will 11 percent.

The poll provided no clear answer to what is shaping up as the main question about the presidential vote: Can Putin win more than 50 percent of the votes, securing victory in the first round and avoiding a run-off against the closest competitor.

While fewer than half the Russians surveyed said they would vote for Putin, some of the politicians offered as choices are not running for president, 11 percent said they would not vote and 15 percent were undecided.

Medvedev's approval rating also fell sharply in the VTsIOM poll, to 51 percent on December 10-11 from 60 percent on November 28-29 and 66 percent in January.

VTsIOM, which surveyed 1,600 people in 138 locations nationwide, and said the poll's margin of error was plus or minus 3.4 percentage points.

Putin's popularity takes a hit ahead of vote

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5i7O38h2MqqUtFI-Bf279FD21OIww?docId=CNG.5e8ac5c2a9b4aae9e06b37574187c1ac.7a1

By Anna Smolchenko (AFP) – 20 minutes ago

MOSCOW — Vladimir Putin's approval ratings have declined to historic lows, polls showed Friday, as liberal media suggested the powerful prime minister was growing out of touch after Russia was swept by protests.

The day earlier Putin gave one of his trademark strongman performances at his annual phone-in with Russians, making light of the rallies and joking that he mistook the white ribbons on protesters' lapels for condoms.

Liberal media said that despite visible efforts to present to the Russians a newer, more democratic version of himself, the 4 1/2-hour phone-in only exposed a gap between society's expectations and Putin's inability to change tack.

"His style looked outdated and jokes not funny," Vedomosti business daily said in an editorial. "Comparisons of the white ribbons to condoms and accusations of being paid to demonstrate were not pretty or smart."

Prominent commentator Mikhail Fishman added in the same newspaper: "Putin does not realise that the rising tide is largely directed against him personally."

"Therefore, the political crisis based around his figure will be accelerating -- and pretty fast," he wrote.

The opposition and observers say Putin's ruling United Russia party cheated its way to a slim majority in parliamentary polls this month, with public anger culminating in a series of mass protests across the country last weekend.

Over 24,000 people have already said on Facebook they are attending a new protest on December 24, an uncomfortable prospect for Putin as he heads into his campaign to return to the Kremlin in March presidential elections.

The most recent polls showed Putin's popularity has taken such a dive he will not be able to secure victory in the first round.

Putin will win only 42 percent in the first round of the March presidential elections, for the first time needing a second round against his Communist challenger, said a poll by the state-controlled All Russian Public Opinion Centre (VTsIOM).

Such a rating would mark a serious erosion in his once invincible support which in his last presidential election victory in 2004 saw him win over 70 percent of the vote.

However his nearest rival Gennady Zyuganov is still lagging far behind on 11 percent, leaving Putin almost certain of victory in the second round.

In another poll quoted in Russian media by the Fund of Public Opionion (FOM), 44 percent of people said that they had complete trust in Putin, compared to 46 percent in the previous month.

The Russian blogosphere, which has been the centre of the protest movement, reacted with indignation to Putin's phone-in, with one blogger saying every new interview of Russia's leaders was being met with an increasing "feeling of disgust."

"How long will this circus last?" said the person on LiveJournal, one of Russia's most popular blogging sites, identifying himself as vital_g.

Bloggers also immediately derided Putin's eyebrow-raising comparisons of the recent opposition demonstrations to an anti-AIDS campaign.

One new slogan posted on LiveJournal features Putin next to a symbol of anti-government demonstrations -- the white ribbon which he compared to "contraceptives" and reads:

"Citizens of Russia, use white ribbons, protect yourself from Putin and vote falsification."

07:31 16/12/2011ALL NEWS

WASHINGTON, December 16 (Itar-Tass) —— The Council for civil society and human rights at the Russian president has completed a report on the second trial of former YUKOS CEO Mikhail Khodorkovsky and will submit it to Dmitry Medvedev on Wednesday, council chairman Mikhail Fedotov told Tass on Thursday.

The second trial of Khodorkovsky and his companion Platon Lebedev extended their prison term by five years to 2016.

Fedotov said the 427-page report contains public examination of criminal case materials related to Khodorkovsky and Lebedev, but categorically refused to disclose the conclusions.

“The head of state has the implicit right to know them first,” said Fedotov now on a business trip to Washington.

He explained a pool of distinguished Russian scholars and experts from various countries, including the United States, Germany, and the Netherlands prepared the report from April to November.

“We have done our part of the job. Now experts in jurisprudence have to work. Everything will depend on the political decision of the president: which way he would like the developments to go by,” Fedotov said.

December 16, 2011 13:23