Russian sociologists have published the results of a new survey indicating that confidence in the president and prime minister are at their absolute lowest levels ever, Interfax reports.

The survey, carried out by the Public Opinion Foundation between July 23-24 in 204 places within 64 regions across Russia, shows that the level of confidence in President Dmitri Medvedev has dipped to 43 percent, as opposed to 49 percent when he was first elected in 2008.

Accordingly, the level of distrust in the president has risen from 14 percent in January 2011 to 23 percent today. Sociologists noted that, in the past, this figure has not risen past 15 percent.

Distrust in Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has also risen since the beginning of the year – from 13 to 21 percent. Confidence in Putin has fallen to 50 percent, also an all-time low.

Over the same period of time, according to the survey, the number of people prepared to participate in political protests in Russia has not risen.

The previous lowest ratings for Medvedev and Putin were both recorded in April, when confidence in the prime minister was at 53 percent and at 46 percent for the president.

According to the results of a national poll conducted by the Public Opinion Foundation (FOM), Medvedev’s faith rating has fallen from his all-time high of 62 percent in January 2010 to 46 percent in April 2011. The number of those polled who have faith in Putin also diminished over that period of time – from 69 to 53 percent. The prime minister’s highest recorded rating, according to FOM, was 71 percent in the third quarter of 2009.

Similarly, the rating for United Russia, the prime minister’s party that holds a near political monopoly over Russia’s political space, fell to 44 percent – the lowest figure in two years. At the same time, the level of distrust towards the party rose from 29 percent in January to 38 percent in April.

Opinions towards other political parties included in the survey – A Just Russia, the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia, and the Communist Party – remained largely unchanged, although ratings for the Communist Party were up slightly overall.

According to another recent survey done by the Levada Center, United Russia’s rating reached a two-year low in April. When asked what party those surveyed would vote for if elections were this coming Sunday, only 39 percent answered with United Russia. The rating for the Communist Party, however, rose from 12 to 18 percent over that period of time.

As Kasparov.ru pointed out, the Levada Center already noted a marked drop in the popularity of the Putin-Medvedev tandem and ruling party back in January. At the time, United Russia members dismissed the statistics as being influenced by seasonal factors – “a political hangover” – following the New Year’s holidays.

If seasonal factors are not taken into account, production has been declining for three months in a row. A Government source said that output in certain sectors, including coking coal, paper pulp and machinery had fallen more than 30 percent in November 2008 as compared with November 2007. “Only sectors tied in with government contracts saw appreciable growth: the manufacture of locomotives and turbine generators,” the source said.

The official estimates of 1.9 percent growth in industrial production for 2008 indicate that December should be even worse. Output would need to fall 19 percent for the month to meet the yearly prognosis. In practical terms, this suggests that key sectors that have already seen heavy losses should brace for continued problems.

Figures released by Rosstat, Russia’s statistical agency, showed that the fall in production was historically significant. If the slowdown continues at the same pace in December, the fall in industrial production will be deeper than that felt in the 1998 financial crisis. The November 2008 figures correspond with falling output at the start of 1999, when the crisis was at its peak.

Ordinary Russians were also feeling the effects of the crisis, and public opinion polls showed a rising dissatisfaction in the measures taken by authorities. As the Vedomosti newspaper reported on December 15th, citing the Public Opinion Foundation (FOM), 39 percent of the country do not have faith in the country’s leadership.

The survey was conducted in 68 regions that encompass 91 percent of Russia’s population. 34 thousand respondents were questioned from November 14th to the 25th.

42 percent of participants thought that the economy was in crisis. 26 percent noted a worsened situation in their region, while 36 percent saw construction projects being stopped. 20 to 33 percent, depending on the social group, feared they may not be able to find a job, while 25-33 expected to be laid off in the near future. 37-43 percent expected problems at the workplace.

Of those questioned, 39 percent said they felt a stronger sense of protest and dissatisfaction with authorities. In regions with heavy industrial production, the number went to 54 percent.

Alexander Orlov, FOM’s president, said that disaffection was identical across social groups, and that it was targeted primarily at local authorities.

Regions were rated on their dissatisfaction with authorities, then divided into three groups: calm, medium, and alarming. The most alarming regions were the Republic of Tatarstan, and the Yaroslav, Kursk and Omsk oblasts (regions). Moscow and St. Petersburg are also in the “alarming” category.