President Vladimir Putin's approval rating fell five percentage points in a single week to 66 percent, according to a July 17 survey by the Public Opinion Foundation, marking the sharpest weekly decline since the 2022 mobilization that triggered a mass exodus of roughly 700,000 Russians.
Trust in Putin also slid to 67 percent from 69 percent, while a fifth of respondents said they do not trust him — the highest share since the war began. Approval for Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin and the broader government dropped as well. Even the Kremlin-aligned VCIOM pollster recorded a record weekly decline in confidence and approval.
The downturn coincides with fuel shortages driven by Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries and broader economic malaise. Consumer sentiment fell to levels last seen in autumn 2022, and the central bank's business climate index dropped to its lowest since mid-2022, with investment banker Yevgeny Kogan warning of potential stagflation.