The recent mutiny led by Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of Wagner Group, against Russian President Vladimir Putin ended abruptly, forcing Prigozhin to seek refuge in Belarus under a negotiated agreement with the leader.
However, despite this failed uprising, Prigozhin’s popularity among the Russian public has not waned, according to a poll conducted by Russia’s Levada Center.
The survey, conducted between June 22 and 28, coincided with Prigozhin’s Wagner fighters briefly occupying the city of Rostov-on-Don in Russia. While Putin labeled Prigozhin’s mutiny as an act of treason, this threat has fueled speculation that the Russian leader’s position might be less secure than it appears.
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Surprisingly, a significant minority of the Russian public still supports Prigozhin, as revealed by the Levada poll. Just two days before the uprising, 58 percent of the 1,643 respondents expressed their approval of Prigozhin, perceiving him as a patriot and a triumphant military commander due to his fighters’ success in Ukraine.
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However, support for Prigozhin dropped to 31 percent during the mutiny, and even after its abrupt termination, it remained at 29 percent, according to Levada’s report.
Furthermore, when asked if they would vote for Prigozhin if he were to run for the presidency of Russia, only 9 percent of respondents indicated their willingness to do so, compared to the previous figure of 18 percent.
Interestingly, while Putin’s approval rating experienced a slight increase from 81 percent to 82 percent before the rebellion, the Levada poll revealed a decline in public sentiment regarding the country’s direction.
In May, 67 percent of respondents believed that Russia was moving in the right direction, but this number dropped to 53 percent during the Wagner mutiny.
