This survey took place between 20-24 October 2017 and was conducted throughout all of Russia in both urban and rural settings. The survey was carried out among 1600 people over the age of 18 in 137 localities of 48 of the country’s regions. The survey was conducted as a personal interview in respondents’ homes. The answer distribution is presented as percentages of the number of participants along with data from previous surveys. The statistical error of these studies for a selection of 1600 people (with a probability of 0.95) does not exceed: 3.4% for indicators around 50%; 2.9% for indicators around 25%/75%; 2.0% for indicators around 10%/90%; 1.5% for indicators around 5%/95%.
HOW WOULD YOU RATE VLADIMIR PUTIN’S WORK AS PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA? (respondents were asked to select an answer on a scale from 1 – lowest to 10 – highest)
| Sept. 99* | Sept. 01 | Sept. 03 | Sept. 05 | Sept. 07 | Oct. 09* | Oct. 11* | Sept. 13 | Sept. 14 | Oct. 15 | Sept. 16 | Oct. 17 | |
| Lowest | 28 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| 2 | 11 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 |
| 3 | 19 | 10 | 9 | 11 | 4 | 5 | 8 | 9 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 6 |
| 4 | 11 | 11 | 8 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 8 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 |
| 5 | 20 | 24 | 21 | 21 | 15 | 13 | 17 | 13 | 11 | 8 | 9 | 11 |
| 6 | 4 | 12 | 10 | 9 | 11 | 10 | 13 | 13 | 9 | 7 | 9 | 10 |
| 7 | 3 | 11 | 14 | 14 | 11 | 14 | 12 | 16 | 17 | 15 | 15 | 15 |
| 8 | 2 | 11 | 14 | 15 | 18 | 18 | 15 | 17 | 22 | 21 | 20 | 19 |
| 9 | 1 | 5 | 8 | 7 | 11 | 18 | 11 | 9 | 15 | 17 | 17 | 12 |
| Highest | 2 | 9 | 11 | 8 | 19 | 16 | 9 | 7 | 17 | 20 | 16 | 17 |
| Scale average: | 3 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 |
*In September 1999, the question was phrased thus: “On a scale from 1 to 10, how would you rate the work of Cabinet of Ministers chairman V. V. Putin?” 2001-2011 “How would you rate Vladimir Putin’s work as Prime Minister of Russia?”
WHAT DO YOU LIKE ABOUT VLAIDIMIR PUTIN? (open question: respondents named characterists THEMSELVES and could name more than one)**
| Oct. 17 | |
| Decisive, manly, firm, strong-willed, strong, calm, brave, clear-cut, self-confident, a real man | 19 |
| Foreign policy, defending against the West, respected around the world, doesn’t let others push him around, is supported by the military, maintains a high status | 18 |
| Experienced politician, manager, strong leader, a professional, competent | 16 |
| Smart, educated, intelligent, cultured | 15 |
| Charming, well-spoken, sense of humor | 9 |
| Respectable, just, honest, conscientious | 7 |
| Active, able to work, energetic, businesslike, hardworking, industrious, busy, works to the point of exhaustion | 7 |
| Visionary, strategist, goal-oriented | 7 |
| Physical appearance, good-looking, doesn’t drink, athletic, leads a healthy life | 6 |
| Maintained stability, improved the economy, our lives have improved while he has been here, pensions are paid on time | 5 |
| Responsible, authoritative, gets to the point, reliable | 5 |
| Looks out for the Russian people, supports the country and its people, does everything for the people | 5 |
| Open, democratic, communicates with people | 4 |
| Patriot, loves Russia | 4 |
| Consistent, keeps his promises, a man of his word | 3 |
| Returned Crimea to Russia | 2 |
| Other | 1 |
| Fights corruption | 1 |
| I don’t like anything about him | 8 |
| I like everything about him | 3 |
| It is difficult to say | 13 |
WHAT DON’T YOU LIKE ABOUT VLADIMIR PUTIN? (open question: respondents named characterists THEMSELVES and could name more than one)**
| Oct. 17 | |
| Doesn’t care about people, does very little for people, doesn’t understand the lives of other people, has forgotten about the common man | 15 |
| Too “soft” with his ministers, gives free reign to his ministers, under the influence of those around him, doesn’t fire Medvedev | 10 |
| Doesn’t fight against corruption, has surrounded himself with thieves | 7 |
| Poverty, low wages, people live meagerly | 6 |
| Talks a lot but does little, nothing but empty words, doesn’t keep his promises, laughs everything off, lies | 5 |
| Economic problems, crisis, no anti-crisis program | 4 |
| Only focuses on foreign policy, puts all money toward defense, helps too much | 4 |
| Authoritarian, persecutes the opposition, put Navalny in prison, rules singlehandedly, has been in power for a long time | 3 |
| High prices, tariffs, new taxes and fees | 2 |
| Divorced his wife, isn’t married, has a lover | 1 |
| Thief, corrupt | 1 |
| Physical appearance, off-putting personal characteristics | 1 |
| War, agressive foreign policy | 1 |
| Bad healthcare | <1 |
| Other | 4 |
| I don’t like anything about him | <1 |
| I like everything about him, he has no flaws | 20 |
| It is difficult to say | 33 |
**The questions were previously not open-ended—respondents were given a card with possible characteristics. You can view those results here.
DO YOU THINK THAT VLADIMIR PUTIN IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE PROBLEMS THAT THE COUNTRY FACES WHILE HE IS IN POWER? (single-answer question)
| Jan. 12 | Feb. 13 | Mar. 14 | Jan. 15 | Jan. 16 | Oct. 17 | |
| Yes, fully responsible | 50 | 48 | 52 | 46 | 43 | 55 |
| Yes, somewhat responsible | 28 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 21 |
| No, he did everything correctly, and when something didn’t work out, that’s the fault of careless and corrupt officials | 12 | 13 | 7 | 12 | 14 | 11 |
| No, he did everything correctly, and when something didn’t work out, it was the result of external circumstances (the position that the country was in at the end of the 90s, the global crisis, etc.) | 6 | 5 | 5 | 8 | 9 | 8 |
| It is difficult to say | 5 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 |
DO YOU THINK THAT VLADIMIR PUTIN RECEIVES COMPLETE AND ACCURATE INFORMATION ON THE SITUATION WITHIN THE COUNTRY FROM THOSE AROUND HIM, OR DO YOU THINK THAT THE INFORMATION HE HAS IS INCOMPLETE AND INACCURATE OR THAT THE TRUTH ABOUT THE SITUATION WITHIN THE COUNTRY IS KEPT HIDDEN FROM HIM?
| Sept. 00 | Jan. 01 | Nov. 04 | Oct. 05 | Oct. 06 | Oct. 07 | Aug. 13 | Aug. 15 | Oct. 17 | |
| He receives complete and accurate information | 32 | 30 | 27 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 27 | 31 | 31 |
| He receives incomplete and inaccurate information | 40 | 40 | 46 | 51 | 47 | 44 | 42 | 42 | 42 |
| The truth about the situation within the country is kept hidden from him | 14 | 14 | 17 | 15 | 16 | 14 | 13 | 14 | 16 |
| It is difficult to say | 14 | 16 | 9 | 9 | 11 | 13 | 18 | 13 | 12 |
IN YOU OPINION, UPON WHICH SEGMENTS OF THE POPULATION DOES VLADIMIR PUTIN DEPEND? (respondents could choose more than one answer; ranked in descending order according to October 2017)
| Oct. 00 | Jul. 01 | Jul. 03 | Jul. 05 | Oct. 10 | Sept. 11 | Aug. 14 | Aug. 16 | Oct. 17 | |
| Security officials: members of the intelligence community, military, and Ministry of Internal Affairs | 54 | 43 | 51 | 51 | 35 | 47 | 45 | 41 | 51 |
| “Oligarchs”, bankers, business leaders | 24 | 15 | 27 | 25 | 31 | 42 | 37 | 32 | 34 |
| Government officials, bureaucrats | 12 | 15 | 21 | 26 | 25 | 36 | 29 | 27 | 31 |
| “The Directors”: the heads of large businesses | 16 | 16 | 21 | 23 | 23 | 30 | 24 | 20 | 26 |
| “The Middle Class”: people who are fairly well-off | 10 | 16 | 19 | 23 | 21 | 25 | 21 | 21 | 22 |
| Yeltsin’s former inner circle, “the family” | 25 | 22 | 25 | 20 | 11 | 15 | 10 | 8 | 9 |
| “Everyday people”: office workers, laborers, rural workers | 12 | 15 | 15 | 18 | 17 | 12 | 13 | 12 | 16 |
| The cultural and scientific elite | 4 | 8 | 9 | 11 | 8 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 16 |
| The intelligentsia | 5 | 10 | 9 | 12 | 9 | 11 | 10 | 11 | 13 |
| “The Lumpenproletariats”: impoverished people at the bottom of society | <1 | <1 | <1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Absolutely everyone | 5 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 8 | 8 | 11 | 13 | 14 |
| It is difficult to say | 13 | 18 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 10 | 13 | 13 | 11 |
IN YOU OPINION, WITH WHICH SEGMENTS OF THE POPULATION HAVE THEIR INTERESTS EXPRESSED BY VLADIMIR PUTIN? (respondents could choose more than one answer; ranked in descending order according to October 2017)
| Sept. 00 | Sept. 01 | Dec. 03 | Dec. 05 | Oct. 10 | Oct. 11 | Jul. 13 | Aug. 14 | Aug. 16 | Oct. 17 | |
| “Security officials”: members of the intelligence community, military, and Ministry of Internal Affairs | 39 | 39 | 33 | 41 | 34 | 38 | 41 | 39 | 35 | 41 |
| “Oligarchs”, bankers, business leaders | 16 | 17 | 14 | 23 | 26 | 35 | 35 | 30 | 28 | 31 |
| Government officials, bureaucrats | 14 | 16 | 15 | 22 | 24 | 25 | 30 | 24 | 22 | 31 |
| “The Directors”: the heads of large businesses | 13 | 13 | 10 | 13 | 18 | 27 | 23 | 19 | 19 | 25 |
| “The Middle Class”: people with Central European levels of prosperity | 19 | 19 | 24 | 21 | 27 | 25 | 24 | 22 | 20 | 23 |
| “Everyday people”: office workers, laborers, rural workers | 18 | 17 | 23 | 18 | 20 | 17 | 11 | 13 | 14 | 17 |
| The cultural and scientific elite | 6 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 15 |
| The intelligentsia | 9 | 6 | 11 | 6 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 12 |
| Yeltsin’s inner circle, “the family” | 19 | 18 | 13 | 14 | 11 | 13 | 14 | 9 | 8 | 10 |
| “The Lumpenproletariats” Impoverished people at the bottom of society | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | <1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Absolutely everyone | 9 | 11 | 15 | 10 | 7 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 17 | 17 |
| It is difficult to say | 16 | 18 | 12 | 11 | 13 | 11 | 10 | 15 | 14 | 12 |
Translated by Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey (formerly Monterey Institute of International Studies).
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