Page 34 - RusRPTFeb21

2.12 ​Polls & Sociology
The population of Russia contracted by 510,000 over 2020 to 146.238mn
people as of January 1, 2021, the Federal State Statistics Service (Rosstat) said on Thursday. The Russian population was 146.748mn as of January 1, 2020. According to statistical data, such population decline was recorded 15 years ago, when it dropped from 143.8mn in 2005 to 143.2mn as of 2006 year-start. The annual increase was registered since 2010. The population did not drop lower than 146.8mn since 2017 and the first dramatic decline was registered in 2021.
Trust in Putin is falling, particularly among Russia’s youth​, according to a new Levada Center poll: only 29% of Russians say that they trust Putin, reports BMB Russia on February 4. The last time this poll was conducted in October, Putin’s trust level stood at 34%.
While these numbers sound low, it’s important to note that they’re a function of how the poll is conducted. Levada asks respondents an open-ended question of “name a few politicians whom you trust.” One-fifth of respondents simply say “no one,” and another fifth do not answer. Furthermore, Putin’s trust rating is still more than double the second most-trusted politician, PM Mikhail Mishustin, who was named by 12% of respondents.
More telling is the breakdown of Putin’s approval rating by age group. In its latest poll, Levada found that 64% of Russians “approve of Putin’s actions as president.” Yet this number varies significantly by age. Among those over age 55, 73% approve of Putin. That figure steadily decreases to 51% among those age 18-24. What’s even more notable is how Putin’s approval ratings among Russia’s youth have shifted in recent years. In the 18-24 age group, 80% of respondents approved of Putin in January 2018. To a politician planning to remain in office for another fifteen years, this trend of declining popularity among younger voters is likely concerning.
Lastly, what does the survey say about Russians’ attitudes toward Navalny? The polls only surveyed approval ratings for Putin, so we don’t know how Russians feel about Navalny’s activities, including his recent investigation into Putin’s palace. Navalny did, however, appear in the list of most-trusted politicians. Trust in Navalny has inched up slightly since his return to Russia, from 4% in October to 5% today. This means that he’s overtaken Communist Party leader Gennady Zyuganov to become Russia’s sixth-most trusted politician (behind Putin, Mishustin, Zhirinovsky, Shoigu, and Lavrov), although a still just a small portion of the population favourites Navalny.
34 ​RUSSIA Country Report​ February 2021 ​ ​www.intellinews.com