Russian Public Opinion Has Dropped Sharply Since Trump-Putin Discord

In what must be seen as a further blow to Putin's standing, Russian public opinion expectations that current Kremlin leaders can improve the country's situation have dropped since Donald Trump made clear that he disapproves of Putin's unwillingness to bend on ending the Ukraine war. 

The implication is that even the Russian public views Trump, not Putin. as the key to Russia's economic and political well-being for the future. JL

Kateryna Zakharchenko reports in the Kyiv Post:

Public optimism in Russia has dropped sharply after Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin’s talks with US President Donald Trump collapsed, amid a deteriorating economic outlook. Only 58 % of respondents believe the current government will be able to improve the country’s situation within the year, down from 68 % in March – the weakest since 2023. As of late September, only 27 % of respondents said they expected life in the country to improve – the lowest since 2021 – and 34 % said the same about their family’s life, which is the lowest since 2022.

Public optimism in Russia has dropped sharply after Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin’s talks with US President Donald Trump collapsed, amid a deteriorating economic outlook, new data from independent pollster Levada Center show.

After an unscheduled phone call with Putin on Oct. 16 – which lasted over two hours – Trump announced that they would meet in Budapest within two weeks, but the planned meeting was later scrapped after the Kremlin restated its maximalist positions.

While a majority of Russians still believe that conditions will improve, the share of such optimistic respondents has declined sharply over the past six months, according to the Russian independent sociological research organization Levada Center.

 

The survey found that just 56 % expect a political improvement in the coming months and 51 % anticipate economic betterment – both figures representing the lowest levels recorded since early 2023.

 

In March, those numbers were 71% and 58% respectively.

Furthermore, only 58 % of respondents believe the current government will be able to improve the country’s situation within the year, down from 68 % in March – also the weakest since 2023.

“Sustained optimism has been eroding in recent months,” Levada wrote, noting that the share of respondents expecting near-term economic improvement rose consistently since 1994, peaked in May 2024 at 64 %, and has been dropping since.

Polls by the Levada Center on Russians’ domestic outlook over the country’s future. (Image by the Levada Center)

The downturn appears to have started in mid-2024, coinciding with signs of an economic slowdown.

By the third quarter of 2025, Russia’s GDP grew just 0.6% year-on-year after two years of growth above 4%. At the same time, civilian sectors stalled while military-industrial and related sectors continued to expand.

 

As a result, not only has the number of respondents expecting worsened economic conditions grown (28 % versus 21 % in March), but the share of those uncertain about the future has jumped to 22 % from 16 % in July.

A similar trend is observed in expectations about political developments.

Evaluations had improved since the early 1990s, reaching a peak six months ago – but now, just over half (56 %) expect political conditions to improve, a drop of 15 percentage points since March.

The dip in sentiment is confirmed by other pollsters such as the Public Opinion Foundation (FOM), which began to see the most common response to questions about whether life in the country or the family would change within six to 12 months revert to “won’t change” rather than “will get better.”

By late September, only 27 % of respondents said they expected life in the country to improve – the lowest since 2021 – and 34 % said the same about their family’s life, which is the lowest since 2022.

Levada’s nationwide survey was conducted between Sept. 23 and Oct. 1 among a representative sample of 1,610 Russians aged 18+ in 137 localities across 50 regions. It was conducted via personal interviews at respondents’ homes.