Support soars among Russians for Putin’s re-election

Public support for Russian President Vladimir Putin to serve another term has hit its highest level in four years, a survey by a state-run pollster showed yesterday.

About 74 percent of Russians would vote to re-elect Putin as president, according to a poll by VTsIOM.

Putin dominates state media in Russia and is widely expected to contest the next presidential election in 2018. If he wins, it would be his fourth term as president. He has capitalised on conflicts in Ukraine and Syria to boost his popularity, and his message that Russia is again a force to be reckoned with on the world stage has gone down well with voters.

VTsIOM said Putin’s ratings had risen among many social groups, including the youth. It also showed his support levels had risen sharply in recent years: in 2012 in the same polling series, only 40 percent of Russians said they would vote for him.

“Even among those who think the president has not yet fulfilled many of his pre-election promises, 70 percent are willing to support Putin,” VTsIOM said on its website. An independent Russian pollster, the Levada Centre, gives Putin similar ratings.

But liberal opposition politicians say the figures are unfair in that state TV, where most Russians get their news, affords Putin blanket and favourable coverage while largely ignoring them.

Should Putin win the 2018 election, he would have the right to serve until 2024. By that stage he would be over 70 years old and be barred from serving more than two consecutive terms.