The state-owned pollster VTsIOM recorded a decline in the approval rating for Russia’s president for the sixth consecutive week.

Putin’s approval rating stood at 66.7 percent in the week of April 6–12, down 1.1 percentage points from the previous week, the center said. His trust rating fell by 1.8 percentage points to 72 percent.

Support for the ruling party United Russia continued to slide as well, dropping 2.4 percentage points over the week to 27.3 percent, according to VTsIOM.

Ratings for other parties represented in Russia’s lower house of parliament are rising. Approval for the Russian political party New People stands at 12.4 percent, up 0.1 percentage points over the last week. Russia’s Communist Party (KPRF) stands at 10.9 percent (up 0.6 p.p.), the Russian nationalist party LDPR at 10.8 percent (up 0.3 p.p.), and the Russian political party A Just Russia at 5.2 percent (up 0.3 p.p.).

The Public Opinion Foundation (FOM), whose primary client is Russia’s Presidential Administration, also recorded declining approval for Putin’s performance as president in late March. In April, FOM’s figures show his approval rating recovering. A report published April 17 said 76 percent of respondents rated Putin’s work as president as generally good, up from 74 percent on March 29.

Both FOM and VTsIOM have been publishing their political and party ratings later than usual over the past several weeks.

A political consultant working with Russia’s Presidential Administration told Meduza that one of the factors behind the decline in the authorities’ ratings was the blocking of Telegram and mobile internet restrictions in various regions of the country. He stressed that other factors are also at play, including rising prices and war fatigue.

Bloomberg reported in mid-April, citing sources, that Russian authorities were reconsidering their approach to internet restrictions out of concern that the measures were hurting Vladimir Putin’s approval ratings. The independent Russian political newsletter Faridaily, also citing sources, reported that the only argument capable of persuading Putin to ease internet restrictions would be a rise in the ratings of parties competing with the ruling United Russia ahead of parliamentary elections.