Russia mood turns bleak
- Vladimir Putin entered late April facing a seventh straight weekly slide in approval, as Russia’s war in Ukraine and domestic strains darkened public sentiment. - State pollster VTsIOM put Putin’s approval at 65.6% for April 13-19, while the central bank cut rates to 14.5% and warned inflation risks remained elevated. - Stalled diplomacy and slower growth are colliding inside Russia as the war enters a fifth year. (reuters.com)
Vladimir Putin is facing a visible dip in support as Russia enters another spring of war, with official polling and public complaints both moving the wrong way. (reuters.com) Russia’s state pollster, VTsIOM, said on April 24 that Putin’s approval rating fell for a seventh straight week to 65.6%, the lowest level since the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. (reuters.com) The same week, the Bank of Russia cut its key interest rate by 50 basis points to 14.5%, but said underlying price growth had not fallen enough and inflation risks were still high. (cbr.ru) (reuters.com) That combination matters because the Kremlin has spent four years arguing that wartime pressure was manageable at home. Lower approval, stubborn inflation and slower growth all point to a population that is harder to reassure. (reuters.com 1) (reuters.com 2) The International Monetary Fund raised its 2026 Russia growth forecast to 1.1% on April 14, but that still followed a sharp slowdown in 2025 to about 1% from 4.9% in 2024. (reuters.com) At the same time, anger has spread over internet shutdowns and access restrictions inside Russia. Putin defended the outages on April 23 as security measures, after weeks of complaints from businesses, officials and ordinary users. (reuters.com) (apnews.com) Peace efforts have not offered much relief. Ukraine said on April 22 that it wanted a Zelenskyy-Putin summit to revive U.S.-led talks, a sign that lower-level diplomacy was not producing a settlement. (apnews.com) A short Orthodox Easter ceasefire was announced on April 10, but it lasted 32 hours and did not change the broader military or political deadlock. (aljazeera.com) None of this means Putin is suddenly in immediate political danger. Reuters reported that his rating remains high by the standards of most democracies, and Russia’s political system still leaves little room for organized opposition. (reuters.com) But the shift is now measurable in the Kremlin’s own numbers: support is slipping, prices are still a problem, and even state-backed narratives of stability are getting harder to maintain. (reuters.com) (cbr.ru)
