MOSCOW, June 11 (UPI) -- The Russian public's level of trust in its political leaders has fallen nearly 10 percentage points in the last six months, a poll indicates.
In a survey by Russia's Public Opinion Fund, those polled were asked if they trusted Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, the newspaper Gazeta reported Friday.
A total of 53 percent said they trusted Medvedev, a drop from the 62 percent figure polled in January, the newspaper said.
Putin fared better in the new poll, with 61 percent saying they found him trustworthy, though this was also a drop, from January's 69 percent.
Analysts say corruption scandals and the slower-than-expected economic recovery from recession have the Russian people blaming authorities.
"It is linked with systematic corruption," Leonty Byzov, a researcher at the Institute of Sociology at Russia's Academy of Sciences, said. "People see no actions by Putin and Medvedev aimed at fighting it. As a result, citizens are no longer satisfied with the minimum social guarantees provided by the authorities."
