Renewed sense of pride as Russians applaud leader’s handling of crisis

As polls closed at the referendum in Crimea on Sunday, a leading Russian television presenter reminded viewers in Moscow that Russia was "still the only country in the world capable of turning the US into nuclear dust".

Crimea's decision to secede from Ukraine has many Russians basking in a renewed sense of national pride bordering on imperial euphoria.

Almost two-thirds of respondents to a recent survey by the Levada Centre, an independent polling agency in Moscow, said Russia had regained its status as a superpower, the highest level in the history of the poll.

Most Russians are cheering Vladimir Putin for his show of strength and decisiveness during the Crimea crisis. Russia's success in carrying away most of the medals in the Sochi Olympics has only added to his glory.

According to the latest Levada poll, approval for the Russian president reached almost 70 per cent in late February, the highest level since his inauguration to a third term in May 2012.

However, Russia was not viewed favourably on the world stage, according to an opinion poll conducted last week. Two-fifths of respondents said Russia was seen as a competitor internationally, while another 16 per cent thought Russia had been cast in the role of an enemy.

An intense campaign of state propaganda and disinformation over the last few weeks had turned hearts and minds in Russia, boosting approval for Putin’s policies in Ukraine, said Lev Gudkov, the director of the Levada Centre. “All alternative, independent sources of information that differ from the official description and interpretation of events have been fully turned off,” he said.

Putin welcomed the results of recent opinion polls in a speech to the Russian elite in the Kremlin. Popular endorsement of Russia’s political decisions was essential as the people’s will underpinned the Kremlin’s authority, he said.