The number of Russians who would vote for United Russia in parliamentary elections increased from 55 to 63 percent compared to June 2016, according to findingspublished by the independent pollster Levada Center.
Public support for all other parties declined or was unchanged.
Compared to June 2016, 8 percent more respondents said they would vote for a United Russia candidate if the parliamentary elections were held this weekend.
The poll questioned 1,600 Russians in 48 regions from June 23 to 26.
Support for the Communist Party declined 5 percent over the same period, while the number of Russians said they would vote for the Liberal Democratic Party fell from 14 to 13 percent. In the same period, A Just Russia’s support dropped from 5 to 3 percent.
Support for liberal opposition parties, including Yabloko and Parnas, declined or remained unchanged at roughly 1 percent.
Speaking to the RBC news outlet, Levada sociologist Denis Volkov tied the increase in support for United Russia to the relative quiet on the political scene over the summer, compared to the same time in 2016 when parties were mounting campaigns ahead of the legislative elections held on Sept. 18.
The transition out of the economic crisis and growing consumer optimism also helped to boost support for the ruling party, Volkov said.
