Paul Goble
Staunton, May 15 – When the numbers show a development the Kremlin doesn’t like, its first action is to change the way those numbers are gathered and how they are presented to the public if at all than to recognize the problem and seek to do something about it.
The latest example of this prevailing trend under Putin comes from the VTsIOM polling agency which has been among those who have tracked falling support for Putin and his policies in recent months (meduza.io/news/2026/05/15/vtsiom-izmenil-metodiku-teper-k-lyudyam-prihodyat-domoy-i-lichno-sprashivayut-podderzhivayut-oni-putina-ili-net-reyting-prezidenta-srazu-vyros).
What the pollsters have done is change the way they gather such information. Up to now, the agency had asked people for their answers by phone. Now, they are doing so only face to face, a more intimidating situation in which respondents are undoubtedly less willing to say anything negative given the risk that they may pay for their answers.
The result, as the Meduza news agency reports, is that Putin’s numbers after this new means of gathering information about his support was introduced have gone up, even though the underlying problems that the earlier polling revealed have not gone away and may even be getting worse for the Kremlin leader.
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