Just 15% of respondents to Pew survey believe Russia tried to influence 2016 election

Vladimir Putin’s claim that Moscow did not interfere in the 2016 US presidential election is believed by more than 70% of Russians, a poll by the Pew Research Center has found, with the Russian president maintaining support for his handling of foreign affairs despite painful US economic sanctions.

The results of the poll, which was taken in late May and June, indicate that Putin is unlikely to face serious public pressure over his deepening conflict with the US.

Of those surveyed, 71% said Russia did not interfere in US elections despite accusations by the US intelligence community that Kremlin-backed hackers stole and released emails from the Democratic National Committee. Just 15% of respondents said they believed Russia did try to influence the election. The poll took answers from 1,000 respondents during face-to-face interviews.

The US has announced further economic sanctions against Moscow. The measures are against two Russians linked to Divetechnoservices, an entity previously under sanctions, and one Russian and one Slovakian company: the Saint Petersburg-based Vela-Marine Ltd and the Slovakia-based Lacno SRO.

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US sanctions are having some effect on the Russian economy, according to 82% of the survey’s respondents, with 47% saying they are having a substantial effect. But 58% said they still had a high degree of confidence in Putin’s abilities in handling international affairs.

While 45% of Russians said they felt their country meddled in other nations’ internal affairs, the vast majority of respondents – 85% – believe the US interferes in the domestic affairs of others.

The poll highlighted Russians’ concerns over the domestic situation, with rising prices concerning 69%, followed by corrupt political leaders and economic inequality.

Nonetheless, 57% of the population said they were satisfied with the direction the country was taking, with 40% dissatisfied. Those numbers, according to Pew’s Global Attitudes Survey, have remained virtually unchanged since 2014, when Russians gave strong support to the annexation of Crimea despite several years of economic recession.

The poll was conducted shortly before the Kremlin announced it would be raising the pension age, a move this is deeply unpopularamong middle-aged Russians. Putin’s approval ratings fell an estimated 15 points as a result, although the Russian president remains broadly popular and enjoys greater support than any other official.

While Russia has not held a competitive presidential election in almost a generation, the Kremlin is still highly sensitive to public opinion. Besides its own internal polling, it regularly invites state pollsters to meet with senior officials and discuss potential flashpoints for public anger.

Russians still have serious concerns about threats from abroad: 45% of respondents called Nato a major threat to the country, and 35% considered it a minor threat. Overall, 72% of Russians believed that the country was playing an important role on the world stage, compared with 59% a year ago.

Despite the international blowback over the 2014 intervention in Ukraine, a majority still thinks that Russia should intervene when there are threats to ethnic Russians in neighbouring countries. Just 36% of respondents said Moscow should not intervene in such cases.