VTsIOM reported stable ratings of power

The electoral rating of United Russia at the end of January was 38% (KPRF – 10.2%, LDPR – 8%, A Just Russia – 6%, and New People – 4.4%). This follows from the results of the latest poll of the All-Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VTsIOM). The rating of the ruling party has been in the range of 37-40% for 11 months (since March 2022). A sharp increase (from 30%) occurred after the start of the military operation in Ukraine.

As Vedomosti wrote, over the past year, the electoral rating of United Russia has grown along with the level of approval of all government institutions. The activities of the president, according to a poll by VTsIOM, are now approved by 76% of the polled Russians. Until February 24, those were 64.3%. The work of the Prime Minister is approved by 53.5% of respondents (was 40.3%), and the work of the Cabinet of Ministers – 51% (37.7%).

When asked about trust in Vladimir Putin as a politician, 79% of respondents answered in the affirmative. Before the start of the special operation, at the end of February 2022, 67.2% of respondents trusted him. Mikhail Mishustin as a politician is now trusted by 62.5% of respondents (trusted by 49.9%).

A similar trend persists for the leaders of parliamentary parties. Among them, the deputy chairman of the Security Council and the chairman of United Russia Dmitry Medvedev (37.4%) is in the lead, 22.7% of respondents spoke of trust in him at the end of February 2022.

The confidence rating of the leader of the Right-wing Russia, Sergei Mironov, is 32% (was 26.3%). According to this indicator, according to VTsIOM, he overtakes the head of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation Gennady Zyuganov (31%, 29.2% a year ago), as well as the leader of the Liberal Democratic Party Leonid Slutsky (17%).

A year ago, VTsIOM did not publish information about the level of trust in Slutsky, but Vladimir Zhirinovsky, who headed the party at that time, enjoyed the trust of 29% of respondents. The leader of the “New People” Aleksey Nechaev is trusted by 8% (was 6.9%). Politicians whom they trust were chosen by respondents from a list provided by sociologists.

Similar rises in ratings and consolidation occurred after the annexation of Crimea (2014) and the start of a military operation in Syria, says political analyst Alexei Makarkin. But each time the reasons for the rise in ratings are different. For example, in the case of Crimea, the Russians shared the “positive emotion of its annexation,” which is why the effect was so long-term, the expert explains: “Most people thought it was a miracle.”

“During the period of Syria, a person sat at home in a comfortable armchair, watched on TV how some kind of missiles were launched, it did not directly concern him and this allowed him to assert himself,” says Makarkin. The situation of the military operation in Ukraine is different, the expert believes: “People feel that this is part of real life. The effect of cohesion is achieved by the feeling of a “besieged fortress”. Power is perceived as a protector, Makarkin notes. At the same time, the conflict continues “and it mobilizes citizens for support,” notes sociologist Denis Volkov.

The stability of the authorities’ ratings can be explained by the relative stability of the political situation in recent times, political analyst Ilya Grashchenkov believes. “You could call it a ‘cohesion around the flag’ phenomenon,” he recalled.