Most Russians see no difference between Medvedev, Putin governments – VTsIOM

(Interfax – MOSCOW, April 19, 2013) The majority of Russians do not see any difference in quality of work of the governments of Dmitry Medvedev and Vladimir Putin, judging by a Russian Public Opinion Study Center (VTsIOM) poll.

Some 71% of the respondents told VTsIOM that Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev’s Cabinet was no better and no worse than Putin’s Cabinet.

Seventeen percent argued that the current government was worse than the government of Vladimir Putin, and 7% presumed that the Medvedev government worked better than Putin’s. Four percent were hesitant.

The center polled 1,600 persons in 130 towns and cities in 42 regions on April 13-14, 2013.

Meanwhile, 76% of the respondents polled in September 2012 said that the Medvedev government was no better and no worse than the Putin government, 11% said it was worse, and 6% said it was better than the previous government. Seven percent failed to answer the question.

Judging by VTsIOM polls, the number of respondents disappointed with the government’s performance nearly doubled over the past year. “Slightly less than a year ago, in July 2012, 63% of the respondents said that the government worked almost as they had expected; 17% said the government failed to meet their expectations and 4% said it was doing better than expected,” VTsIOM General Director Valery Fyodorov told a Friday press conference.

In his words, “The current percentage of respondents who said the government met their expectations is 58%, the percentage of the respondents who believe the government works better is almost unchanged, 5%, and the number of disappointed respondents is approximately twice larger, 31% as compared to 17%.”

The current percentage of respondents who believe that the Medvedev government may change things for the better is 27%. It was 32% a year ago, VTsIOM said.

“The percentage of those who do not believe in the government’s ability to improve the situation in the country is 35%; it was 23% a year ago,” Fyodorov said.

In Fyodorov’s words, Russians mentioned the inefficient anti-corruption fight as the main shortcoming of the Medvedev government. It is best remembered for fight against smoking and alcohol abuse.