Russia's polling decline poses succession challenge for Putin. Independent pollster Levada reports three to seven percentage point drops in voter approval for Putin, the prime minister, government, and regional governors through January. The Kremlin faces critical pressure before September's State Duma elections. Political strategists believe avoiding recession, limiting war casualties, and preventing supply chain disruptions are essential to maintaining stability. Confidence in Russia's political situation has lost over ten points in recent months on the Levada scale, down from 82 before the 2022 military operation began. Putin's strategy depends on military acceleration in Ukraine while managing domestic economic expectations for 2024 and 2025.
