Putin's approval rating stable at over 80% in July: poll

An opinion poll showed Thursday that Russian President Vladimir Putin's public approval rating was stable at above 80 percent in July.

Some 83.5 percent of interviewed Russians approved of Putin's work in the last week of July, down from 84.1 percent in the previous week but up from 82.2 percent and 83.4 percent in the first and second week of the month respectively, according to the latest monthly public opinion poll of the government-owned Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VTSIOM).

"The situation with political ratings is relatively stable," Mikhail Mamonov, the head of VTSIOM's Political Analysis and Consulting Department, said in a comment on the poll.

He said that the volatility was traditionally low in the summer due to mass holidays.

However, a slight increase in the approval of the activities of Putin in the second half of July was close to peak values, as the aggravation of the international situation resulted in the strengthening of support for the head of state, Mamonov said.

He also noted that an increase in activity assessments began after the first meeting of Putin with U.S. President Donald Trump at the G20 Summit in Hamburg, Germany, and the effect of this meeting was preserved.

The poll showed that 52.4 percent of the interviewed approved of the work of Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, up from 51.9 percent at the beginning of the month, while 57.5 percent approved of the work of his government, down from 58.0 percent.

Russians' approval of the ruling party United Russia increased with the rating standing at 50.3 percent at the end of July, up from 47.9 percent at the beginning of the month.