Crimea War: Putin's popularity reaching incredible heights

Russian President Vladmir Putin has despite (or perhaps due to) the situation in Crimea and Ukraine, been enjoying a three-year high in his approval ratings.

On Wednesday, the independent Levada Center released their latest numbers for Putin, and they show that his popularity is growing even more. 

He now holds an enormous 80-percent approval rating. Just 18 percent of Russians appear unhappy with his leadership, the lowest number in years (the other 2 percent are unsure).

President Putin's popularity is reaching the incredible heights of 2008, when he was riding high on Russia's booming oil economy and a short, triumphant war with Georgia.

Could it reach those heights again? It certainly does seem to be trending upward, though there have been some good arguments that the economic impact of Crimea may eventually pull these numbers down.

Putin's aggressive, anti-U.S. stance over Crimea is resonating with a lot of ordinary Russians.