--- description: Putin's approval rating soars in the face of controversy title: Russia: Putin's Approval Rating Soars in Face of Controversy image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt76a8cbb65dbe7a58/69869ea5cd68483f38095f55/putin-strong.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [russia](/tag/russia/) ## russia Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Putin’s Popularity Soars to 87% in the Face of Adversity by [David Stout](/author/david-stout/) ## David Stout Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Aug 7, 2014 8:23 AM CUT  President Vladimir Putin speaks at the opening ceremony of the monument to the Heroes of the World War I in Moscow on Friday, Aug. 1, 2014. President Vladimir Putin speaks at the opening ceremony of the monument to the Heroes of the World War I in Moscow on Friday, Aug. 1, 2014.Yuri Kochetkov—AP by [David Stout](/author/david-stout/) ## David Stout Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Aug 7, 2014 8:23 AM CUT Russian President Vladimir Putin has enmeshed his nation in civil war in Ukraine, faces international sanctions for allegedly contributing to the downing of a commercial airliner last month, and has been targeted by a fresh round of [financial sanctions](http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/ukraine-plane-crash/mh17-sanctions-retaliation-russia-may-force-airlines-reroute-n173111 "undefined") from the West. But Russia loves him all the same. In fact, his popularity among his fellow countrymen appears to grow with each new controversy. A new poll released this week by the Levada Center reports that the Russian President currently enjoys an approval rating of 87% — a 4-point jump since a similar survey was completed in May, according to the Moscow [_Times_](http://www.themoscowtimes.com/article/504691.html "undefined"). Meanwhile in the U.S., where the economy is bouncing back and the White House has largely retreated from militaristic interventions abroad, President Barack Obama’s approval rating [sagged](http://time.com/3084270/obamas-approval-rating-at-all-time-low-in-new-poll/ "undefined") to 40% this week — its lowest point to date. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3088126/putins-popularity-hits-87-russia/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3088126/putins-popularity-hits-87-russia/"},"headline":"Putin’s Popularity Soars to 87% in the Face of Adversity","datePublished":"2014-08-07T08:23:29.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T09:32:44.655Z","description":"A new survey claims Russians are more than happy with their controversial strongman at the helm","url":"https://time.com/3088126/putins-popularity-hits-87-russia/","keywords":["russia","Ukraine","Civil War","Vladimir Putin","President Barack Obama","Malaysia Airlines Flight 17"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt76a8cbb65dbe7a58/69869ea5cd68483f38095f55/putin-strong.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"David Stout","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/david-stout/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt76a8cbb65dbe7a58/69869ea5cd68483f38095f55/putin-strong.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Vladimir Putin","caption":"Vladimir Putin","creditText":"Yuri Kochetkov—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/russia/","name":"russia"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3088126/putins-popularity-hits-87-russia/","name":"Putin’s Popularity Soars to 87% in the Face of Adversity"}}]}] ```