MOSCOW Russian President Vladimir Putin's popularity has taken a knock since the beginning of the month, shedding six points in the space of three weeks, according to an opinion poll published Monday, as reported by AFP.

Only 42 percent of Russian electors would vote for him if a presidential election were held tomorrow, compared with 48 percent on April 1, the Public Opinion Foundation revealed in its poll quoted by the Interfax news agency.

Both polls were based on samples of 1,500 respondents chosen in 29 Russian regions.

Out of the 29, Moscow was the least favorable to Putin, the pollsters said without elaborating.

The most significant news event of the past three weeks likely to influence opinions has been the takeover of the independent NTV television station by the government-dominated gas giant Gazprom.

Putin has scored consistently high popularity ratings since he was formally elected president on March 26 last year, having previously served as acting president following Boris Yeltsin's resignation on December 31, 1999.