Jens Asbjørn Bøgen
His approval rating has just seen its steepest weekly drop since the war began.
In any autocracy, the public mood is a closely guarded secret, often hidden behind a wall of state-sanctioned optimism.
But even the tightest controls cannot fully mask the shifting tides of public opinion when daily life begins to bite.
Now, new data suggests that the usual cracks are widening faster than before.
A sudden slide
According to the independent Russian news outlet Meduza, based in Latvia, President Vladimir Putin is facing a notable dip in his public standing.
A leading local pollster recently recorded a sharp five-percentage-point drop in his approval rating. It now stands at just 66 percent.
The Public Opinion Foundation, known as FOM, conducted the survey in mid-July. It revealed that this single-week drop is the sharpest decline the Russian leader has seen since his troops first crossed into Ukraine.
It was not an isolated finding. The poll also tracked a decline in general trust, which slipped from 69 percent to 67 percent during the same period.
Trouble at home
Even state-backed polling organizations are starting to confirm the downward trend. The Russian Public Opinion Research Center, commonly known as VTsIOM, reported a similar decline in its recent figures.
Its data showed Putin’s approval rating falling slightly to 65.1 percent. Meanwhile, his overall trust rating fell by more than one percentage point to 71 percent.
That might seem minor, but it follows a much bigger shock from earlier in the month. In early July, VTsIOM recorded a 3.4-percentage-point drop in trust. This shattered the previous record decline of 1.8 percentage points, set back in April.
Behind the numbers
So, what is driving this sudden change in mood? Pollsters point to a mix of domestic frustrations that are affecting everyday Russians.
For starters, the government has imposed strict internet restrictions, including moves to block the highly popular messaging app Telegram. People are feeling disconnected and frustrated by the digital crackdown.
On top of that, a persistent fuel crisis has gripped the country, sending prices higher and making daily life harder. With these issues piling up, the Kremlin’s usual grip on the narrative appears to be slipping.
