...Second and fourth President of the Russian Federation and the first to remain sober. Putin is credited with bringing political stability and re-establishing something like the rule of law, which occasionally results in somebody dropping dead from polonium poisoning. Under Putin, a new group of business magnates controlling significant swathes of Russia's economy has emerged, all of whom have close personal ties to Putin. The old bunch, without close personal ties to Putin, are in jail or in exile or dead...has seen his approval rating climb in Russia due to his strong stance on military intervention in Ukraine, several opinion polls show.
More than two out of three Russians (69 percent of those interviewed), say they back Putin's actions, a poll by the independent Levada agency found in late February after interviewing 1,603 people in 45 regions.
Putin's approval ratings were almost as high as after his inauguration in 2012, Levada said.
Just 30 percent of Russians say they disapprove of Putin's actions, down from 34 percent last year, the Levada centre found.
The VTsIOM state polling agency, seen as close to the Kremlin, put Putin's approval rating at 68 percent, with 53 percent of its respondents in early March saying the situation in Ukraine was the most important news event.