Polling Problems: Putin and Russia are more unpopular than ever

While Donald Trump may be warming up to Russia and Vladimir Putin as he aims to put an end to the war in Ukraine, the rest of the world, and many individuals in America, still have a negative view of Russia and Putin. 

The latest survey data from the Pew Research Center found that opinions of Russia are still broadly negative across the 35 countries that the non-partisan think tank polled with the people of most countries having an unfavorable view. 

“Overall, a median of 65% of adults in the surveyed countries have an unfavorable view of Russia, while 28% have a favorable view,” the Pew Research Center noted. Views in each country varied independent of location. 

For example, unfavorable views of Russia were particularly concentrated among allied Western nations. Roughly three-quarters of adults in Australia, Canada, Israel, Japan, South Korea, and the U.S. had an unfavorable view of Russia. 

Polish respondents had the highest unfavorable rating among the 35 countries surveyed with 87% saying they had an unfavorable view of Russia while 9% indicated they had a somewhat unfavorable view. Only 2% had a favorable view of Russia. 

The United States had an overall unfavorable rating of 86% compared to just 11% who said they had a favorable view of Russia. However, non-aligned countries like India and South Africa had overall unfavorable views of 16% and 45%. 

“Although views of Russia generally remain negative, ratings have improved slightly in several countries since last year,” The Pew Research Center explained. Argentina was one country where favorable views of Putin have risen since 2023. 

“The share of Argentines with a favorable opinion of Russia reached an all-time low of 17% in 2023.  This year, the share has risen by 11 points to 28%,” the Pew Research Center explained. 

Russia also saw a minor rise in favorability in Germany, Mexico, and South Korea, all of which registered a 5-point rise since 2023. On the other hand, favorable views of Russia in Chile have reached an all-time low with only 20% having a positive view of Russia.  

Views of Putin have largely remained unchanged from the Pew Research Center’s 2023 polling. Putin remained broadly unfavorable though he did see a rise in some countries. 

“In some places, views of Russia and Putin have warmed slightly since reaching historic lows in 2022 amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine,” the Pew Research Center explained. 

When people were asked if they had confidence Putin would do the right thing regarding world affairs, many said that they did not. “A median of 73% express not too much or no confidence at all in him,” the Pew Research Center revealed. 

“Views are overwhelmingly negative in Europe, with sizable majorities in every surveyed country expressing a negative view of Putin,” the Pew Research Center noted. Greece was the only country that bucked the trend in Europe. 

“Greece is the only European nation polled where more than one-quarter of adults have confidence in Putin,” the Pew Research Center. 65% of Greeks said they had no or little confidence in Putin to do the right thing while 45% said they had a lot or some. 

Views varied far more outside of Europe but the most interesting results came from Asia and the United States. For example, Malaysia and the Philippines were the only nations where a majority of individuals expressed confidence in Putin. 

A total of 88% of Americans expressed none or not too much confidence in Putin to do the right thing regarding world affairs while 8% said they had a lot or some confidence that he would. Such results beg the question: Why has Trump turned towards Putin?

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