The Kremlin leader’s reputation has declined rapidly this spring. Why many Russians are outraged right now.
March 28, 2026, 8:09 p.mMarch 28, 2026, 8:09 p.m
Ivan Ruslyannikov / ch media
One reason to ponder: Russians have less trust in President Vladimir Putin than they have in a long time.Image: keystone
The Russians are angry with their president. Vladimir Putin’s approval ratings have fallen to their lowest level since the invasion of Ukraine. This emerges from a study by the state center for opinion research.
Currently, Putin’s approval rating as president stands at 70.1 percent, while his trust index has fallen to 75 percent. Putin never recorded such low values even during the Ukrainian army’s invasion of the Kursk region.
The decline in Vladimir Putin’s popularity index occurs against the background of two quite significant events in Russia that are not directly related to the war in Ukraine.
Russian President Vladimir Putin inspects tomatoes during his visit to the year-round greenhouse farm on Wednesday.Image: AP Pool Sputnik Kremlin
In March, the first peasant protests in Russia in ten years took place in several regions of Siberia. It all started when regional officials in the Novosibirsk region decided to confiscate cattle from private farms and impose quarantine in some localities. The reason for this was allegedly an outbreak of an infectious disease and rabies.
This led to massive protests from farmers who alleged that regional officials were picking up livestock for slaughter without checking. The farmers turned to Putin and blocked the path for the special vehicles, but that didn’t help.
The farmers’ protests crushed
The story of the farmer Peter Polezhayev from the Novosibirsk region is significant. He had been farming for over 35 years, and when officials came to confiscate his livestock, he poured gasoline on himself and threatened to set himself on fire. “If my livestock is destroyed, I will no longer have a livelihood,” Polezhayev said in an emotional video call. However, the next day the farming family gave in: both the authorities and relatives put pressure on the family.
Ultimately, officials crushed the farmers’ protests and limited themselves to a small increase in compensation payments. «People are depressed. Vodka, it is said, has disappeared from the shops,” a farmer from the village of Kozikha told the media company “Agentstvo”. The people lived from their livestock. «When you have something to do, you don’t have time to drink. How are people supposed to survive now, eh?” Hoping for the government is not an option. “There is no trust,” she said.
In March, Putin blocked Telegram.Image: keystone
Blocking of means of communication
The second point that is driving Putin’s popularity ratings down is related to the blocking of the popular messenger Telegram, which has been in effect since March. According to the international research project OONI, the restriction on Telegram in Russia is currently around 70 percent. The newspaper RBK reported that the complete blocking of Telegram would take place on April 1.
The Kremlin’s domestic political bloc has still not found a solution as to how and with what means to calm the population. A source from the newspaper “Verstka” in the presidential administration explained that the closures had “made people very unsure,” but that they did not know “what could be offered as a replacement.” People are not convinced that the measure is intended to stop fraudsters and drones.
Particular outrage arose among Russian soldiers and military circles. The leader of the “Fair Russia” party, Sergei Mironov, said that Telegram was the only functioning means of communication for Russian soldiers in the war in Ukraine. The politician described those who slow down the operation of the messenger in Russia as “idiots” and “scumbags”. As a result, the Kremlin made a concession: Telegram will not be blocked on the front lines.
In a survey, the Public Opinion Foundation described the blocking of Telegram as the third most important event for Russians after the wars in Ukraine and Iran. The closures had already saddened or angered more than half of those surveyed aged 14 to 17 at the beginning of March.
In March, propaganda blogger Ilya Remeslo accused Putin of not caring at all about domestic politics and the problems of voters. After these statements he was admitted to a psychiatric clinic. There has been no news about him for over a week now. (aargauerzeitung.ch)