Trust in Russia's government has plummeted by almost half in the past year, a survey by the independent pollster Levada Center revealed Thursday.
Just 26 percent of respondents said that they trusted Russia's government, down from 45 percent in 2015, the Interfax news agency reported. Only 22 percent said that they had confidence in the country's State Duma, despite elections being held in September. The figure is down from 40 percent last year.
Russian President Vladimir Putin
remains the country's most trusted institution, but even he was hit
by falling levels of confidence.
Seventy-four
percent of respondents said that they had faith in Putin's work— a
drop from the 80 percent polled 12 months ago.
Only
one in four (27 percent) said that they trusted the media, while 43
percent had faith in the church. Last year,
the figures stood at 34 percent and 53 percent respectively.
Corruption
scandals in Russia's Investigative Committee may have also hit public
opinion hard. Just 24 percent of respondents said that they trusted
the police, a decrease from last year's 29 percent.
The Prosecutor's
Office remains
trusted by
24 percent of Russians
— down from 37 percent last year — while
22 percent said that they believed in the country's court system.
Twenty-nine percent of Russians had held similar views in 2015.
The survey questioned 1,600 Russians in 137 settlements between Sept. 23-26.
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