Interfax: Putin politician of the year – poll

MOSCOW. Dec 26 (Interfax) – President Vladimir Putin is predominantly seen in Russia as the politician of the year, an opinion poll suggests.

The Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VCIOM) said in a report made available to Interfax on Thursday that 44% of respondents in a recent poll named Putin as the top politician of 2013.

Everyone else was far below, with only 8% giving their preference to Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, 7% to Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, 6% to Liberal Democratic leader Vladimir Zhirinovsky, and 5% to Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev.

Figure skater Yevgeny Plyushchenko leads the sports rankings for the second year in a row, having been named the number one athlete by 10% of those questioned (his 2012 performance was 9%). Track-and-fielder Yelena Isinbayeva was second with 5% and ice hockey player Alexander Ovechkin third with 3%.

Filipp Kirkorov tops the pop singers’ list with 6%, being followed by Stas Mikhaylov and Nikolai Baskov with 5% each, Grigory Leps and Andrei Makarevich with 4% each, and Alla Pugacheva and Dima Bilan with 3% each.

Darya Dontsova is the number one in the novelists category with 6%. Boris Akunin comes second with 2%, other authors scoring less than 2%.

On the whole, respondents were undecided when asked to name their preferred author. As television goes, First Channel is in the top rung. “Pust Govoryat” (“Let Them Talk”) is First Channel’s most popular program once again with 15% of respondents having said they liked it best. It is followed by “Golos” (“Voice”) with 8%, “Davai Pozhenimsya” (“Let’s Get Married”) and “Novosti” (“News”) with 5% each, “Polye Chudyes” (“The Field of Miracles”) and “Vesti” (“News”) with 4% each, and “Zhdi Menya” (“Wait for Me”), “K Baryeru” (“Duel”) and “Bitva Ekstrasensov” (“Battle of Psychics”) with 3% each. All of those are also First Channel programs.

“Stalingrad” by Russian director Fyodor Bondarchuk is the year’s most popular movie with 12% preference. “Legend No. 17” is second with 4%. VCIOM questioned

1,600 people in the survey, carried out in 42 of Russia’s regions on December 14-15.