Most of Russians like Putin’s answers at Dec. 20 press conference – poll

(Interfax – December 27, 2012)

The Dec. 20 press conference by President Vladimir Putin caught the attention of more than half of Russians. Thirty-four percent watched the press conference live, either fully or partially, and 18% learned the main points from news programs.

Forty-eight percent did not follow the presidential press conference, the Russian Public Opinion Study Center (VTsIOM) told Interfax on Thursday.

Putin’s press conference caught the attention of supporters of A Just Russia and the Communist Party (41 percent) and Muscovites (43 percent). Liberal Democratic Party supporters (58 percent) and non-voters (55 percent) paid no attention.

Forty-seven percent of the respondents said they liked certain moments of the press conference, and 17 percent called the press conference interesting. Thirteen percent said that the press conference was a bit dragged out (16 percent of viewers aged from 25 to 34). Eleven percent said it was boring. Eight percent said the press conference disappointed them.

Sixty-six percent were satisfied with the president’s answers and 24 percent were not. The majority of respondents satisfied with the press conference are United Russia supporters (85 percent), while most of the unsatisfied respondents are supporters of non-parliamentary parties (48 percent).

Most of all, the respondents liked the president’s answers about the Magnitsky List and the Russian Dima Yakovlev Law (7 percent), suppression of corruption (6 percent), maternity capital (4 percent), social policy, economic development, housing problems, care for people, army problems, demography and foreign policy (2 percent) and doomsday and personal questions (3 percent).

The viewers mostly criticized the non-specific talk (6 percent), comments on corruption (3 percent) and on the dismissal of Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov (2 percent), and the lack of attention to social policy (2 percent). One percent did not like the presidential comment on the Magnitsky List. Forty-eight percent of the respondents could not mention any negative moments in the presidential press conference.

The respondents were asked which questions they wanted to ask the president. Sixteen percent said they wanted to talk about socioeconomic problems, higher salaries and pensions and better living standards; 5 percent about housing and public utilities, 4 percent about inflation and social guarantees, 3 percent about unemployment, education and assistance to young families, 2 percent about agriculture, the economy and housing problems, and 4 percent about corruption.

Only 1 percent said they would ask the president about democracy and the next presidential election.

The center polled 1,600 people in 138 towns and cities in 46 regions on Dec. 22-23.