Survey: Fewer Bulgarians Support Putin after the Start of the War

There are twice as many Bulgarians who like Russian President Vladimir Putin. During the four days of hostilities, Putin, who has enjoyed a positive rating in Bulgaria for years, has lost more than half of his popularity in the country.

If in the period 2020-2022 between 55% and 58% of Bulgarians expressed positive assessments of him with only 20 percent negative, now the situation is changing radically. Positive opinions decreased almost twice, to 32%, and negative ones increased to 48%.

The results are from an express, nationally representative survey, conducted jointly by BNT and the Alpha Research Agency. It was realized on February 28, 2022, among a sample of 500 adult citizens from all over the country. The information was gathered through a live standardized telephone interview.

Sociologist Genoveva Petrova told BNT that against this background, 40% of Bulgarians support Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

There are serious dynamics in the attitude to the reaction of the European Union - 63 out of 100 Bulgarians approve of the way in which Europe has united and stood firmly in support of Ukraine, she added.

54.9% of respondents approve the removal of Defense Minister Stefan Yanev. 35.7% - no. Against this background, 55% agree with the resignation of the Minister of Defense requested by Prime Minister Kiril Petkov, due to his "personal" positions on the country's foreign policy, contrary to the general government policy. 36% do not agree with the replacement of Stefan Yanev. The dominant approval for the resignation of the Minister of Defense is mainly due to the fact that in the critical situation for the world and Bulgaria when Europe shows complete unity, the majority of citizens expect the Bulgarian government to...