Is Putin's Approval Rating Remains At 86% Accurate?

Russian President Vladimir Putin gestures during the Business Russia forum in Moscow, Russia, May 26, 2015. Alexei Nikolsky / RIA Novosti / Kremlin / Reuters

Moscow Times: Putin's Approval Rating Remains at 86% Unfazed by Economic Crisis, Ukraine Conflict

President Vladimir Putin continues to enjoy the approval of a staggering 86 percent of the Russian public, a poll revealed Thursday, indicating levels of support that many Western leaders could only dream of.

Putin's approval rating, announced by independent Moscow-based pollster the Levada Center, sat at the same level last month, when a similarly worded poll was conducted.

By comparison, the most recent Gallup Poll data shows that U.S. President Barack Obama enjoys the approval of a mere 46 percent of Americans. German Chancellor Angela Merkel currently has the approval of 70 percent of her compatriots, Reuters reported in early May.

WNU Editor: I am one of the 14% who do not approve. But is the poll accurate? I know among my Russian family members, friends, and associates (which numbers in the hundreds) .... I am the only critic of Putin. So yes .... Putin is enjoying a period where he is very popular. The reasons for why this is the case are many .... but I have always credited him for positioning himself well in the current crisis with the West. Russians when they are under threat .... real or perceived .... always circle the wagons, and in this case Putin has placed himself in the middle of this circle. It also helps him that the opposition is disorganized and unappealing, and coupled with much of the main stream media in Putin's "pocket" .... the only real opposition to Putin are groups like The Communist Party (unappealing in every way) and some regional politicians. Will this popularity last .... I said last year that strains will show at the end of 2015 if sanctions and the Ukraine crisis are not resolved .... I am still holding onto that prediction.