The reasons for this boil down to just two issues, and they don't include Putin's Syrian success. One is Snowden being granted temporary asylum in Russia, and the other is the collapse of human rights for LGBT people there.
The increasing negativity toward Russia suggests that matters such as the Snowden asylum case and Russian policy toward gays and lesbians may weigh more heavily on Americans' minds than Russia's recent role in the negotiations on Syria.
The same poll finds that 64% of Americans who have heard of Russia's granting asylum to Snowden disapprove of the move, while 25% approve of its actions.
Also in June, the government passed a law that would restrict "propaganda" relating to gays and lesbians in Russia and has led to the arrest of gay activists in the nation. While 45% of Americans have not yet heard of these developments, of those who said they were aware, 69% disapprove of Russia's policies toward gays and lesbians, while 13% approve. moreThe Snowden thing is to be expected I guess given how many in the US view the rest of the world anyway; "you're either with us or against us". Although outside the US Snowden is regarded as a hero and patriot, it may well be too much of an ask for some in the US to agree with that given the constant war mentality being thrown at them in the media.
The LGBT thing is different though. Standing up for a persecuted minority in Russia isn't going to gain the US any sort of military advantage. Indeed the same LGBT minority exists within the US itself and is treated entirely differently there. To me this suggests that the US public cares about us as fellow human beings and don't like seeing the LGBT being treated badly as they are in Russia.
In any case this is a big turnaround. It's not every day that a country of 300million people changes their collective mind.
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