42 percent of Russians say the current federal government can't improve the country, while only 16 percent believe in improvements, down from 45 percent in July 2010 and 21 percent in July 2011, the recent opinion poll reveals.

      Only 5.9 percent of respondents to a survey conducted last month by the independent Levada Center pollster said the Russian government is doing a good job. A principal complaint was that the state was unable to deal with rising prices and provide sufficient social security.

      A fifth of respondents said the government lacks sufficient means of dealing with a “crisis” (23.4 percent) and is highly corrupt (21.1 percent). The federal government, overseen by the prime minister, has an average approval rating of 4.83 percent, down from 5.96 percent in April 2011 and 6.51 percent in April 2010.

      The poll, conducted on July 18 to 22, used a nationwide sample of 1,601 adults across 130 residential areas. The statistical margin of error did not exceed 3.4 percent.