MOSCOW. Feb 17 (Interfax) - The majority of Russians still think highly of the authorities' performance in the financial crisis, but the crisis is still having an effect on people's evaluations of the work of top officials, polls show.

According to a poll conducted by the All-Russia Pubic Opinion Research Center on February 7-8, President Dmitry Medvedev's approval rating reaches some 70%, which is 10% less than the percentage of respondents who approved of the president's work in September 2008. The president's electoral rating has dropped from 58% to 54% over the past six months, the poll shows.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's approval rating reaches 74% as of February 7-8 (against 77% last week and 80% in December 2008).

The president and the prime minister are the most trusted politicians in Russia (43% and 59% of the respondents said they trust them).

The percentage of Russians who approve of the government's performance in the crisis has dropped from 58% in December 2008 to 47%.