Moscow and St. Petersburg have many demonstrators, but they are not representative of public opinion. Levada Center polls are usually considered trustworthy. L

Moscow and St. Petersburg have many demonstrators, but they are not representative of public opinion. Levada Center polls are usually considered trustworthy. Levada is an independent polling organization that has been doing accurate polls even under government pressure (they were forbidden from polling during last elections if I remember correctly). Their polls indicate that Putin has ~70% approval ~30% disapproval. I suspect that if Putin becomes unpopular, Levada polls just stop. Currently they are allowed to do polls because Putin is popular. Things can change fast. Putin's popularity may increase if people believe the propaganda that NATO is the reason for the war, or it collapses.