Moscow, January 23: A fresh poll released by the state-run Public Opinion Research Center has found that the Russia's trust in President Vladimir Putin to be at an all-time low.The survey finds that the approval rating in favour of Putin has dropped by nearly 37.6 per cent - after being recorded as 71 per cent in 2015.

The 33.4 percent plunge is likely to send shockwaves in the corridors of power in Russia -- which has remained centralised and consolidated since 1998. When Putin was first elevated to the President's post that year, he had offered a "social contract" to the electorate of Russia. As per the contract, he had promised them better wages and higher standard of living, in return of their freedom of expression. Is Russia Under Vladimir Putin Pursuing A Military Buildup?

Experts on the affairs of Moscow claim that the Russian regime, over the past five years, has been struggling to deliver on the social contract. The pays have turned stagnant, living index continues to fall, unemployment emerging as a  major concern and public sector amenities continue to deteriorate.

"The Russian system can no longer deliver the social contract that was implicitly offered to the population when Putin came to power," Mathieu Boulegue, a Russia and Eurasia research fellow at think-tank Chatham House, was quoted as saying by Al Jazeera.

Another Russian affairs expert, Ben Noble, who is a politics lecturer at University College London, said the findings of the state-conducted survey is likely to rattle the Putin regime. "Kremlin will take these numbers seriously," he claimed.

Although Putin struggles to live up to the electorate's expectations, he faces no immediate threat in maintaining his grip on Kremlin. The Russian President was handed another 5-year term in 2018, after he won a one-sided election in which the tallest opposition leader, Alexei  Navalny was barred from contesting.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 23, 2019 05:47 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).