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October 16, 2026 — United Russia Falls Seven Points at FOM as Non-Parliamentary Support Climbs
United Russia fell 7 pp to 31% at FOM, and VTsIOM recorded a 5.5 pp drop a week earlier, while VTsIOM's non-parliamentary bloc gained 6.1 pp over five weeks. Putin's job approval stood at 69.4% at VTsIOM and 71% at FOM; Yabloko holds at 3% in FOM's card.
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Polls released today show a continued shift in party support. The Kremlin-controlled Public Opinion Foundation (FOM) recorded a drop of 7 pp in support for United Russia over the past week. The state-run Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VTsIOM) reported a similar decline a week earlier, with support falling by 5.5 pp.
VTsIOM also recorded an increase of 6.1 pp in combined support for non-parliamentary parties. A similar pattern emerged this summer before the pro-peace party Yabloko was excluded from the elections. FOM data, for example, show that support for other non-parliamentary parties remains within its usual historical range. Yabloko, by contrast, polled at 0–1% before the State Duma election campaign began, but its support has now stabilized at no less than 3%, according to FOM.
Key ratings of the week (change since the start of the year)
Sources for this weekly update
VTsIOM. Ratings of the President, the Government and political parties, 16 October 2026
FOM. Dominants. Field of opinions, issue 41, 16 October 2026
VTsIOM. Indices of social assessments, accessed 16 October 2026
Polling data
- VTsIOM — Рейтинги Президента, Правительства и политических партий, published . Combined sample of 1,600 (half telephone «Sputnik», half route survey), margin of error 2.5%. Approval is approval of performance, not trust: trust in the same review is 74.7%. Protest potential is the «quite possible» reading from the standing page wciom.ru/ratings/protestnyi-potencial (16% on 4 and 11 October); that page carries no publication date of its own. Party readings in the same review: CPRF 17.4%, LDPR 10.3%, New People 8.9%, A Just Russia 4.1%, non-parliamentary parties 10.5% combined — the model has no fields for these.
- VTsIOM — Индексы социальных оценок, published . «Situation in the country», September 2026: the sum of «rather bad» 21, «bad» 8 and «very bad» 10 = 39; August 45, January 29. The standing page carries no publication date of its own, so the date of the issue in which the figure first appears is used, as for VTsIOM 2026-07 and 2026-08.
- VTsIOM — Индексы социальных оценок, published . Negative assessments: VTsIOM social assessment indices, July 2026 (rather bad, bad and very bad assessments of the situation in the country). Anxious moods: «Эмоциональный тонометр российского общества: летний замер», published 29 July 2026 (https://wciom.ru/analytical-reviews/analiticheskii-obzor/ehmocionalnyi-tonometr-rossiiskogo-obshchestva-letnii-zamer). Reported in EK Strategies' update of 21 August 2026.
- FOM — Доминанты. Поле мнений. Выпуск 41, published . FOMnibus of 9–11 October, 1,500 respondents, 97 settlements, 51 regions, margin of error up to 3.6%. Approval is the «works rather well» question (71%); trust the same week is 70% and is not taken into the tracker. Protest potential is the «would you personally take part» series (16%, previous point 16% on 27 September; FOM measures it fortnightly); the other FOM question, «would many people take part», also stands at 16%. Yabloko 3%, A Just Russia 4% — no fields in the model. Issue 41 has no section on dissatisfaction with the authorities.
- FOM — Доминанты. Поле мнений. Выпуск 40, published . Fieldwork 2–4 October 2026, 1,500 respondents in 97 localities (51 regions), margin of error up to 3.6%. Job approval: «работает скорее хорошо». Negative assessments: actions of the authorities over the past month personally caused discontent or indignation (previous point 6 September: 27%). Anxious moods: anxious mood prevails among family and friends (calm 46%). Parties: shares of all respondents; Yabloko 3% and A Just Russia 3% have no fields. No protest figure in this issue. Issue page dated 9 October, PDF dated 8 October.
- Levada Center — Партийные рейтинги в августе 2026 года и состав электората основных партий, published . Second release for August: party ratings published 8 October. Fieldwork 18–28 August 2026, 1,600 respondents, face-to-face, before the State Duma election, so not comparable with the post-election VTsIOM and FOM readings. Shares of all respondents; among those who had decided: United Russia 47%, CPRF 13%, LDPR 12%, New People 6%, A Just Russia 7%, Yabloko 7%. The sample excludes the new regions and closed territories. Yabloko (5% of all respondents) was on the list although removed from the ballot shortly before the survey. No comparison with earlier readings.
- Levada Center — Рейтинги сентября 2026 года: настроения, оценки положения дел в стране и одобрение органов власти, published . Fieldwork 23–30 September 2026, 1,616 respondents aged 18+, 137 localities (50 regions), face-to-face. Negative assessments: only the share saying the country is on the wrong path (right direction 60%, undecided 14%). Anxious moods: share reporting negative emotions (tension, irritation, fear, anguish); normal, even state 57%. No party or protest figures in this release.