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Putin, Medvedev Enjoy Boost in Popularity

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's popularity rose after a national televised address last week, curbing a four-week slide, according to a weekly poll by the Public Opinion Foundation published on Thursday.

Analysts have described Putin's popularity as the backbone of a political system plagued by weak institutions.

All three of Russia's main polling agencies had registered a dip in the popularity of Putin and President Dmitry Medvedev in recent months as the country's economic slump dragged into its second year.

Putin's approval rating climbed 3 percentage points to 68 percent, its highest level in five weeks in a poll of 2,000 people taken on Saturday and Sunday. Medvedev's rating climbed four points to 58 percent, its highest level in a month.

The poll came two days after Putin vowed to ruthlessly fight Islamist rebels in a four-hour televised call-in show with the Russian people. He also demanded tough measures be taken against those responsible for the Nevsky Express train bombing that killed 26 on Nov. 27.

The polling coincided with strong statements by Putin and Medvedev to demand that officials be held accountable for neglect that led to a fire on Saturday at the Perm nightclub Khromaya Loshad (Lame Horse) that has killed 132, according to the Emergency Situations Ministry.

A Levada Center poll released earlier this week showed that only 26 percent of Russians had confidence in the ability of the government to revive the struggling economy, down from 33 percent in September.

Russia remains mired in a deep economic crisis, with GDP contracting 8.9 percent in the third quarter from a year earlier and unemployment up by more than one-third since the start of the economic crisis last year.

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