There has been little change in sentiment amongst Russians and President Vladimir Putin’s popularity remains sky-high, according to a new survey by independent pollster the Levada Center. Putin’s rating fell two points to 84% in December.

Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev also saw his approval rating fall a little to 53% from the highest score he enjoyed all year of 57% in November. However, the ambivalence towards the PM is higher than towards either Putin or the government, with 7% undecided.

The population remains evenly split on what they think about the government, with 50% approving and 49% disapproving of its effectiveness. However, the population clearly remains unimpressed with the Duma, with a 55% disapproval rating vs 44% approval, slightly better than last month (58%, 42% respectively).

According to 53% of Russians, the country is going in the right direction, down from 56% in November, the year’s greatest level of optimism about the future of the country. To contrast, December’s result remains a lot better than the 45% of Russians that thought Russia was on track in January. Just under a third (31%) of respondents think Russia is going in the wrong direction and another 16% were undecided.

Approval for the performance of regional governors (and in Moscow, the mayor) was voiced by 56% of respondents against 42% disapproving.

There was no change in the top three most popular politicians. First place is still easily held by Putin (December 56% vs 58% in January), with Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu in second place (23%, 26%), and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (20%) third.