Do Russians Still Support Putin?

85 percent of Russians said they still support President Vladimir Putin's actions at the helm of Russia, the Levada Center independent pollster revealed Wednesday. Mikhail Klimentyev/RIA Novosti/Kremlin/Reuters

Moscow Times: Despite Economic Woes, 85 Percent of Russians Still Support Putin

WNU Editor: I know how these polls are conducted. A phone call is made on a land-line during the day ... and most of the time it is a pensioner who answers (the young are working). Many of these pensioners are deeply loyal to Putin .... I know from experience that they all credit him for the pensions and services that they receive from the government .... something that was not stable or reliable until Putin came to power. So even though this poll may say that 85% support him .... knowing how it is done I am surprise that it is not a 100%. As for the rest of the population .... I can only assess his support from what my Russian relatives and friends are saying .... and what I get from them is that Putin's support is very strong. Because of the conflict in Ukraine and EU/U.S. pressure .... most do support Putin and will vote for him if a Presidential election was called today. But if it was not for the Ukraine crisis and western sanctions I would hazard a guess that his support would be much less .... my impression is that he would still win an election, albeit with support that (I predict) will only be slightly above 50%.