Public opinion polls published this week gave contradicting views about support for President Vladimir Putin among the Russian population.
Surveys conducted in April by two think tanks close to the Kremlin — the private Public Opinion Foundation and the non-profit Civil Society Development Foundation — said about 50 percent of respondents were ready to elect Putin president for another term.
But a survey carried out in April by independent Levada Center said only 29 percent of Russians supported another term for Putin.
The Public Opinion Foundation questioned 3,600 Muscovites from April 3-22 and had a margin of error of 2.3 percentage points, RIA Novosti reported. It said about 50 percent of Muscovites want Putin to remain as president.
The Civil Society Development Foundation surveyed 1,600 people in 48 Russian regions from April 20-21. Forty-seven percent of the survey's respondents said they would be ready to elect Putin to president if elections were suddenly called next Sunday. The foundation didn't indicate a margin of error.
The Levada Center polled 1,600 people in 45 Russian regions. Its margin of error was 3.4 percentage points.
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