The share of Russians who believe the government is not fulfilling its duty to the people has risen to 39 percent, concludes Russia's Levada Center in a recent survey.

Over the period of a year, the number of survey respondents dissatisfied with the government's performance rose from 28 percent to 39 percent. This reflects a return to levels seen before Russia's annexation of Crimea.

18 percent of respondents had no views on the authorities’ performance. 16 percent of respondents believe there is mounting chaos in the country (this is up from 8 percent a year ago). 14 percent believe Russia is experiencing stagnation and economic slowdown.

Criticism of the government is indeed growing, but it is still less than what was seen from 2012–2013, says Levada Center Deputy Director Alexei Grazhdankin.