Russians don’t like idea of bringing monarchy back – poll

(Interfax – MOSCOW, May 16, 2013) A poll conducted by the Levada Center shows that the majority of Russians are confident that Russia does not need a monarchy and Russia’s last emperor Nicholas II was not the best leader.

The 145th anniversary of the birth of Russia’s last Emperor Nicholas II will be marked on May 19.

The study shows that 10% of the respondents (against 9% in 2000) favor the restoration of monarchy in Russia. These people are mainly workers (14%), public servants (13%), respondents aged between 25 and 55 (13%), people with vocational degrees (13%), and supporters of Liberal Democratic Party leader Vladimir Zhirinovsky (13%).

An overwhelming majority of the respondents (76%, against 91% in 2000) oppose the restoration of monarchy in Russia. These people are mainly students (85%), people with disabilities (83%), businessman (82%) Russians older than 55 (81%), people with university degrees (80%), supporters of Communist Party leader Gennady Zyuganov (89%) or businessman Mikhail Prokhorov (86%).

Twenty-five percent of the respondents believe Nicholas II “was not a very good leader and made many mistakes, which he, however, redeemed with his death as a martyr.” Twenty-three percent of the respondents call him “an innocent victim of the bolshevik terror,” 18% believe that Nicholas “abdicated, gave up the country at a difficult moment, and is responsible for what happened to the country after 1917.” Another 12% said Nicholas II “reduced the people of Russia to poverty caused a catastrophe in the country, and was overthrown by the people.”