Russians have more confidence in authorities’ ability to make their life better – poll

December 21, 2012 JRL Russia List Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Population Disaster, Demographics

(Interfax – December 20, 2012) The approval ratings of Russian leaders grew in December after a minor decline in November, Levada Center told Interfax on Thursday. It held a nation-wide poll on Dec. 14-17.

The approval rating of President Vladimir Putin stood at 65 percent in December, as against 63 percent in November and 68 percent in September, the sociologists said.

Putin and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev topped the list of Russia’s most popular politicians in December. Thirty-four percent of the respondents trust the president and 19 percent in the prime minister.

The confidence rating is 14 percent for Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, 8 percent for Communist Party leader Gennady Zyuganov and Liberal Democratic Party leader Vladimir Zhirinovsky, 4 percent for billionaire, Civil Platform party leader Mikhail Prokhorov and Federation Council Chairperson Valentina Matviyenko, and 3 percent for A Just Russia party leader Sergei Mironov and Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill.

Twenty percent of the respondents do not trust any politicians, which is 4 percent less than in November.

A growing number of Russians believe in the ability of the Russian government to improve national life.

In December, a quarter of respondents were confident the government was capable of the soonest change for the better, and 30 percent were hopeful (the indicators stood at 22 and 32 percent respectively a month ago), but the majority was still skeptical (42 percent).

The approval rating of the Russian government has grown from 40 to 47 percent since November, while the number of discontent people declined from 59 to 52 percent over the same period. Less people (44 percent as against 41 percent) believe that Russia is on the wrong track, and 41 percent disagree.

The number of respondents happy with the State Duma increased from 34 percent in November to 39 percent in December. Fifty-nine percent of the respondents disapproved of the State Duma’s work in December, as compared with 65 percent in November.

Fifty-five percent of the respondents polled in 130 towns and cities in 45 regions said they were basically satisfied with the performance of governors (the Moscow mayor). The indicator grew by 4 percent over the past month.