Weak economic growth in Russia and Ukrainian drones, which have now reached Siberia, are putting Russian President Putin under severe pressure. His approval rating is falling and even from within his own ranks there is already criticism.
The ice under Putin's feet is already showing serious cracks. Even pro-government and state-run opinion pollsters are publishing data that show that approval of the Russian president's work is falling, writes the German public broadcaster ARD.
Putin's approval is falling
In early May, the pro-government sociological institute „FOM“ reported a 73% approval rating for the president's job, but this is the lowest figure since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Such data in Russia should be treated with caution, as respondents cannot answer completely freely, but the current downward trend is still impressive, the German publication points out.
There are videos of angry and disappointed Russians shared repeatedly on social networks, which clearly confirm this trend. They are outraged by high prices in supermarkets or show streets littered with countless potholes and garbage, next to which rats are seen guarding. And the comments on them read: “Who needs the Internet when you have neighbors like this?“. The hint here is clear - it is about the extremely unpopular restriction of access to the Internet in Russia in recent months, writes ARD.
Discontent with price increases in Russia
One of the main topics of discontent is related to money. Rising prices are a major concern for Russians: many people share on social media that when shopping they are spending more and more money on fewer goods. This is also a consequence of the VAT rate increased at the beginning of the year from 20 to 22 percent. For some goods, such as basic food products, children's clothing or medicines, a reduced rate of 10 percent is applied.
Putin himself admitted at a meeting with industrialists in mid-April that Russia's gross domestic product in January and February of this year fell by 1.8 percent. According to him, this was due to "calendar, weather and seasonal factors". These were not the only reasons, but he never mentioned others. Putin did not say that the war in Ukraine could be one of those factors. Instead, he asked the government and the central bank for suggestions on how to achieve more growth.
Entrepreneurs are holding back on investments
Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina maintained her growth forecast of 0.5 to 1.5 percent for 2026, but acknowledged that economic development is currently “modest.” To make that prediction a reality, the central bank has cut its key interest rate eight times since October 2024 – from 21 to 14.5 percent. The idea behind this was that if the key interest rate falls, so do interest rates on loans, whether for individuals or businesses. And this should stimulate consumption.
But in a survey by the pro-government Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs of Russia (RSPP), more than 80 percent of the companies surveyed said they had frozen their investments.
Ukrainian attacks on the main source of income
Added to this is the fact that Ukrainian drones are increasingly attacking Russian export infrastructure and have already reached Western Siberia and the Urals, more than 2,000 kilometers from the border. In just one week, 1,904 drones were shot down over Russian territory, according to the state news agency RIA Novosti, ARD reports.
And the targets are not random: on May 5, the governor of the Leningrad Region announced that the main target of the night attack was the “KINEF“ refinery near St. Petersburg - one of the largest in Russia. In recent weeks, both Tuapse on the Black Sea and Ust-Luga on the Baltic Sea have been repeatedly attacked.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov accused the Ukrainian leadership of provoking "further destabilization of global energy markets" with the drone strikes on Tuapse, but conveniently ignored the fact that Russia was the one who started the war and that it itself is constantly attacking Ukrainian energy infrastructure.
Criticism now also from within its own ranks
The economic policy is not well received - and not only by citizens. Communist Party Chairman Gennady Zyuganov described this course as destructive. Interest rates are "suffocating" the economy, he warned at a party meeting.
Although Zyuganov is formally considered an oppositionist, his criticism of government policy usually remains moderate. Now, however, he is using stronger words. This may be related to the upcoming State Duma elections in September, for which he is probably trying to mobilize his voters now, ARD points out.
But criticism is also being heard from industry circles. For example, Oleg Deripaska, head of the concern “Bazovyy element”, trading in oil and aluminum, warned in mid-January of an upcoming wave of bankruptcies: “This completely primitive experiment will end ingloriously – with the bankruptcy of thousands of companies and enterprises,” he said. By “primitive experiment” Deripaska is referring primarily to the interest rate policy of state-owned banks.
The Kremlin-friendly TV presenter Vladimir Solovyov, known for his extreme comments, expressed an even more radical opinion - after the fires in Tuapse and Ust-Luga, he suggested that Russia sell its raw materials mainly to China and North Korea, instead of the West. “Do we need currency at all, or do we need technologies and products?“, he asked rhetorically on his popular TV talk show.
The state treasury is emptying
It is true that Russia receives billions from the oil and gas trade - mainly from China and India, but also from the EU. and Moscow's profits have probably even increased since the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. Nevertheless, the state treasury is clearly emptying and urgently needs more revenue and more growth – If it weren't for that, the government wouldn't have been forced to raise taxes and lower the key interest rate.
Because the war in Ukraine is eating up a lot of money. At the end of March, the Financial Times reported that Putin had asked Russia's super-rich to donate to the war effort. The Kremlin denies this. Spokesman Peskov clarified that the initiative was not Putin's, but that of a major businessman who offered to provide "a very, very large sum to the state." After all, Russian entrepreneurs had amassed their wealth in the 1990s with the help of the state. That's why, according to Peskov, many of them now consider it their duty to give something back to their country.
The political and economic climate in Russia is changing. The question is how much longer the Kremlin will be able to prevent the worsening economic situation from being publicly linked to the war in Ukraine, writes the German public broadcaster ARD.