If you look at the headlines coming out of the West, it’s easy to assume Vladimir Putin is a cornered villain ruling over a nation of secret rebels. You see the protests, the arrests, and the high-profile deaths of dissidents, and you think: "No one could actually like this guy."
But then you look at the numbers.
As of early 2026, independent pollsters like the Levada Center—which has been labeled a "foreign agent" by the Russian government and has no reason to fluff his numbers—still show Putin’s approval rating hovering around 86%. Even state-run pollsters like VTsIOM report trust levels near 79%.
Is it all fake? Is it fear? Or do Russians actually like Putin?
The truth is a lot more uncomfortable than a simple "yes" or "no." It’s a messy mix of genuine gratitude, a lack of better options, and a very specific type of Russian pragmatism that most outsiders find impossible to wrap their heads around.
The Stability Trap: Why 1999 Still Matters
To understand why a 65-year-old grandmother in Yekaterinburg might still support Putin, you have to understand the trauma of the 1990s.
After the Soviet Union collapsed, Russia didn't just become a democracy; it became a chaotic free-for-all. Gangsters ran the streets. Hyperinflation wiped out life savings. Pensions simply stopped being paid. When Putin took over in 1999, he did one thing that cemented his legacy forever: he started paying the pensions on time.
It sounds small. It’s not.
For a generation that lived through the humiliation of the Yeltsin years, Putin represents the "Adult in the Room." He is the guy who brought the paycheck back. Even now, with 2026 inflation putting a dent in the ruble, that deep-seated memory of 1990s anarchy keeps a lot of older Russians firmly in his camp.
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The "No Alternative" Doctrine
There’s a common phrase you’ll hear in Moscow: "If not Putin, then who?"
It’s not necessarily that people think he’s perfect. It’s that the political landscape has been so thoroughly cleared of competitors that he seems like the only thing holding the roof up.
- Alexei Navalny is gone.
- Boris Nemtsov is gone.
- The remaining "opposition" parties in the Duma are basically just different flavors of the Kremlin's own agenda.
When people are asked if they like Putin, they aren't comparing him to a hypothetical George Washington. They are comparing him to the abyss.
War, Pride, and the "Rally 'Round the Flag" Effect
Since the escalation in Ukraine began in 2022, something counterintuitive happened. Instead of the Russian public turning on him due to sanctions, they largely rallied.
By late 2025 and into 2026, the Chicago Council on Global Affairs and Levada found that 55% of Russians now prioritize being a "great power" over having a high standard of living. That is a massive psychological shift. For decades, the trade-off was: "I’ll give up my political rights if you give me IKEA and a vacation in Turkey."
Now, the deal has changed. It’s about "Greatness."
The Propaganda Machine
You can't talk about Putin's popularity without talking about Channel One.
For the average Russian outside the tech-savvy bubbles of Moscow and St. Petersburg, the state-run television is the only reality. It paints a picture of a Russia under siege by a decadent, aggressive West. In this narrative, Putin isn't an aggressor; he’s the defender.
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He is the one standing between Russia and "total destruction" by NATO. When you believe your house is on fire, you don’t complain about the fire chief’s personality. You just want him to put it out.
Is It Fear? The "Preference Falsification" Problem
Let’s be real: polling in an autocracy is tricky. There is a phenomenon called preference falsification. If a stranger calls you on the phone in a country where you can get 15 years in prison for calling a "special military operation" a "war," are you going to tell them you hate the President? Probably not.
UN Special Rapporteur Mariana Katzarova has pointed out that the "abuse of national security legislation" has created a "chilling effect." People are afraid to show their true sentiments.
However, experts like Denis Volkov of the Levada Center argue that while some people lie, the high approval isn't only a lie. Even if you "adjust" the numbers for fear, Putin would likely still have a majority. It might be 60% instead of 86%, but in any Western democracy, a 60% approval rating would be a landslide victory.
The Generational Divide is Massive
This is where the cracks really start to show.
The "Putin Generation"—those who have never known another leader—is increasingly disconnected from the Kremlin's Soviet-nostalgia rhetoric.
- Under 25s: Support is significantly lower (sometimes dipping below 30-40% in specific trust metrics).
- Over 55s: This is Putin’s fortress. They trust the TV. They remember the bread lines. They aren't going anywhere.
Younger Russians get their news from YouTube and Telegram. They see the world. They see what they are missing. But they are also the ones most likely to emigrate. Since 2022, hundreds of thousands of Russia’s "best and brightest" have left for Armenia, Georgia, and the EU.
By leaving, they actually make Putin’s job easier. They remove the opposition from the denominator.
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What Most People Get Wrong: The "Middle Path"
The biggest mistake Westerners make is thinking Russians are either brainwashed or terrified.
Most Russians are just... indifferent. They practice "internal emigration." They ignore politics, focus on their families, and hope the storm passes them by. This passive acceptance looks a lot like "liking" Putin on a spreadsheet, but it's actually a form of survival.
They don't necessarily love him. They just don't see a viable way—or a reason—to get rid of him.
Actionable Reality: What to Watch for in 2026
If you want to know if the "love" for Putin is actually fading, don't look at the approval polls. Look at these three things instead:
- The Price of Butter: Historically, Russians tolerate political repression, but they don't tolerate empty shelves. High inflation in 2026 is the biggest threat to Putin’s "Stability" myth.
- The "Deadlines" for Peace: Recent polls show that 66% of Russians now want peace negotiations. If the war drags into 2027 with no end in sight, the "Great Power" pride might start to sour.
- Regional Unrest: Watch cities like Khabarovsk or the border regions like Belgorod. When the war literally hits home, the abstract "support" for the leader starts to crumble.
Understanding Russian support for Putin requires looking past the 86% figure and seeing the exhaustion underneath. It’s a marriage of convenience where one partner has changed all the locks and the other partner is too tired to move out.
If you're trying to gauge the future of the region, pay less attention to what Russians say to a pollster and more to how they spend their money and whether they’re teaching their kids a second language. Those are the real votes.
Next steps for deeper understanding:
You can monitor the monthly updates from the Levada Center (English version) to see if the "support for peace" trend continues to outpace the "support for military action." Additionally, tracking the Russian Central Bank's interest rate decisions will tell you more about the regime's stability than any political speech ever will.