Approval of Putin, Medvedev in decline

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MOSCOW, Nov. 29 (UPI) -- Public approval ratings for Russia President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev are in steady decline, a Russian polling company said.

Widespread protests marked the election to a third non-consecutive term for Putin this year. Putin served as Medvedev's prime minister during the previous administration.

The Levada Center polling company, in a Thursday report, said 34 percent of the 1,596 adults taking part in the survey expressed disapproval for Putin and 20 percent of those surveyed expressed a similar sentiment toward Medvedev, state-run news agency RIA Novosti reports.

Putin's approval rating was 41 percent and Medvedev's was 28 percent in January. The Russian news agency said Putin's approval rating has been declining steadily since 2008.

The polling company said a poor Russian economy and widening income disparities in the Russian population were contributing factors to the general sense of political frustration.

The state-run news agency didn't publish survey methodology.