Russian President Vladimir Putin attends his annual press conference in Moscow, Russia, Dec. 20, 2018. (Xinhua/Bai Xueqi)

MOSCOW, Jan 21 (Xinhua) -- A recent poll showed Russian President Vladimir Putin's approval has further declined, local media reported on Monday.

A poll by government-owned research center VTSIOM carried out Jan.9-Jan. 13 by phone and published on Jan. 18 on its website found that 62.1 percent of those polled approved of Putin's presidency, as compared to 64.6 percent during the previous poll in December. Eight thousand people were polled.

Putin's public approval rating has seen a slump over the past few months amid strengthened western sanctions and the announcement of reforms in the country's pension system.

Some analysts said that the decline of Putin's ratings is partially due to the controversy around raising the retirement age and the value-added tax (VAT) rate that came into effect on Jan.1.

Russians' approval of their government was up to 47.4 percent from a previous 45.9 percent, while for the ruling United Russia party it was down to 33.8 percent from 35.3 percent in the December poll.