Despite his scandalous public image, Russians likes the LDPR leader and consider him independent and forthright.
MOSCOW, April 25, 2016. Russian Public Opinion Research Centre (VCIOM) presents the data of the survey describing the Russian assessment of Vladimir Zhirinovsky as a person and a political leader.
Russians perceive Vladimir Zhirinovsky positively (48%) or neutrally (49%); the proportion of negative emotions is lower (27%). Respondents call Zhirinovsky “straight-shooter” (16%) or smart person (9%); 10% say that he is extremely emotional; 25% say he evokes a smile.
Russians have more positive emotions regarding Zhirinovsky (68%) than negative ones (44%). People respect him (25%) and like him (22%). Among negative emotions respondents mention distrust (18%). Seventeen percent are indifferent towards him.
Assessing the performance of the LDPR leader, 45% say that he brings equally good and harm to the country. Those who give definite responses express mainly positive opinions (22%; 46% of LDPR supporters) rather than negative (8%). On the one hand, people mention his willingness to tell the truth (33%), on the other hand, certain respondents cite that he fails to put words into actions (18%). Some call him a brawler (26%) and a person who brings discredit to the politician’s image (12%).
Most of respondents (61%) consider Zhirinovsky as an independent politician (they are opposed by 29%). Almost half of respondents (46%) accept that the LDPR leader is acting in the interests of the Russian citizens; they are opposed by 38%. The legitimacy index is 43 p. (out of 100).
Russians highly asses Zhirinovsky’s merits, however, his political prospects are blurry: 59% agree that he has achieved a lot but he can hardly achieve more. Twenty-two percent of Russians believe that this politician has no political future; they are opposed by only 8%.
The Medialogia Company carried out an analysis of the mentions of Vladimir Zhirinovsky in the Russian media over five years. A total number of 264000 publications were found; most of them were published in February and March 2012. The media reported that Vladimir Zhirinovsky was going to take part in the presidential elections for the fifth time.
Legitimacy Index shows how legitimate certain political institutions are, according to Russian opinion. The higher the value of index is, the more the legitimacy assessments are. The index is based on the question “In your opinion, is … acting in the interests of all society or a small group of people?”; it is measured in points and can vary between 0 and 100 points. The coefficients are based on the results of the previous surveys; the answer “In the interests of all society” corresponds to coefficient “ 1”; “In the interests of the overwhelming majority” – “0.875”; “In the interests of the majority” – “0.75”; “In the interests of the minority” - “0.25”; “In the interests of the narrow minority”- “0.125”; “In the interests of the a small group of people”- “0”.
The VCIOM survey was conducted on April 9-10, 2016, using multi-stage stratified sample. A total number of 1600 respondents were interviewed via landline and cell phones. The sample is based on the list of telephone numbers operating in Russia. The data is weighted according to social and demographic parameters. The margin of error with 95% confidence interval does not exceed 2.5%. Apart from the margin of error, minor changes in question wording and different circumstances arising during the field work should be taken into account.
Russian media monitoring and analysis were carried out by the Medialogia Company from January 2011 to April 2016, using approximately 31400 sources such as television, radio, newspapers, magazines, Information agencies and online media.
What thoughts come in your mind when you hear “Zhirinovsky”? (closed-ended question, not more than three answers, %) | |
| Total respondents |
Positive connotations | |
He tells the truth | 16 |
Positive emotions/ I like him/normal perception | 12 |
Smart | 9 |
Good politician | 3 |
Close to ordinary people | 3 |
It is interesting to listen to him/ interesting person | 2 |
Ordinary man | 1 |
Fair-minded | 1 |
Respect | 1 |
Negative connotations | |
I do not like him | 5 |
Negative perception | 5 |
Rude | 4 |
Compulsive talker | 3 |
Stupid | 2 |
Not serious person | 2 |
Aggressive / cruel | 1 |
Provocator / brawler | 1 |
Pro-Kremlin opposition | 1 |
Irritation/ indignation | 1 |
He should not be entrusted with power | 1 |
Ambitious / unprincipled | 1 |
Neutral and ambiguous connotations | |
He evokes laughter | 25 |
Emotional person | 10 |
Populist | 4 |
His actions can be rational and negative as well | 3 |
LDPR leader | 3 |
He is extraordinary | 1 |
Orator | 1 |
Nationalist / patriot | 1 |
Other | 1 |
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None | 3 |
Don’t know | 12 |
What feelings does Vladimir Zhirinovsky evoke? (closed-ended question, not more than two answers, %) | |
| Total respondents |
Respect | 25 |
Liking | 22 |
Distrust | 18 |
Indifference | 17 |
Hope | 8 |
Trust | 8 |
Disappointment | 8 |
Skepsis | 8 |
Dislikes | 6 |
Admiration | 5 |
Condemnation | 3 |
Hatred | 1 |
Love | 0 |
Don’t know | 10 |
In your opinion, is Vladimir Zhirinovsky independent politician, or not? (closed-ended question, one answer, %) | |||||||
| Total respondents | A Just Russia party | Supporters of LDPR | Supporters of CPRF | Supporters of United Russia party | Supporters of non-parliamentary parties | I would not take part in elections |
Rather independent | 61 | 56 | 84 | 53 | 65 | 41 | 42 |
Not independent; he is dependent on others | 29 | 37 | 11 | 34 | 26 | 47 | 46 |
Don’t know | 10 | 7 | 5 | 13 | 9 | 12 | 12 |
In your opinion, do the activities of V. Zhirinovsky bring more harm or good? (closed-ended question, one answer, %) | |||||||
| Total respondents | A Just Russia party | Supporters of LDPR | Supporters of CPRF | Supporters of United Russia party | Supporters of non-parliamentary parties | I would not take part in elections |
More good | 22 | 18 | 46 | 23 | 20 | 16 | 20 |
Equally harm and good | 45 | 42 | 43 | 45 | 48 | 46 | 41 |
More harm | 8 | 10 | 1 | 10 | 8 | 14 | 2 |
Don’t know | 25 | 30 | 10 | 22 | 24 | 24 | 36 |
What is good in Zhirinovsky’s activities? (open-ended question, any number of answers, % of those who think that Zhirinovsky’s activity brings good, or both harm and good) | |
| Total respondents |
He tells the truth | 33 |
He is in opposition | 7 |
He is close to people | 7 |
Charity | 5 |
He places important issues for consideration / He makes the authorities think | 5 |
Open | 4 |
He makes people laugh / He boosts spirits | 2 |
People listen to him / He is the right person to listen to | 2 |
Patriotism | 2 |
His predictions have been fulfilled / He can predict the future | 2 |
His proposals make politicians and society move | 2 |
He actively participates in elaborating the draft laws, projects | 2 |
Politician of his word / He fulfils his engagements | 2 |
Advices concerning Syria and Ukraine | 2 |
His position in international affairs / He speaks out against Western accusations | 1 |
His political program | 1 |
Supporting the government, Putin | 1 |
Uniting the youth / Uniting people around the party | 1 |
Defending human rights | 1 |
His suggestions and proposals | 1 |
Other | 4 |
Don’t know | 30 |
What is wrong in Zhirinovsky’s actions (open-ended question, any number of answers, % of those who think that Zhirinovsky’s activity brings harm, or both harm and good) | |
| Total respondents |
Troublemaker | 26 |
Inactive / too many words, no deeds | 18 |
His behavior brings discredit to the image of deputy (quick-tempered, rude) | 12 |
Aggression in questions concerning foreign policy | 7 |
Nationalist / attempts to throw together peoples of Russia | 6 |
He does not take care about Russian people | 5 |
He lies / I do not trust him | 4 |
He destabilizes the situation in the country | 3 |
He creates a wrong image of Russia/ He undermines Russia’s image | 3 |
He destroys the society | 2 |
He messed with people’s heads / he blows smoke | 2 |
He undermined trust in the work of the government | 2 |
He does not have his own initiatives | 2 |
Many controversies in his statements | 2 |
He does not keep his thoughts to himself | 1 |
He hampers political development | 1 |
Opposition supporting the United Russia party | 1 |
He does not think about consequences of his words | 1 |
Provocations / Stirring negative discussions | 1 |
Wrong agitation | 1 |
Other | 1 |
Don’t know | 16 |
In your opinion, in whose interests does Vladimir Zhirinovsky act being the LDPR leader? (closed-ended question, one answer, %) | ||||||
| Total respondents | Aged 18-24 | Aged 25-34 | Aged 35-44 | Aged 45-59 | Aged 60 and more |
In the interests of all society | 11 | 11 | 13 | 16 | 7 | 12 |
In the interests of the overwhelming majority | 11 | 14 | 13 | 8 | 13 | 6 |
In the interests of the majority | 24 | 27 | 25 | 21 | 22 | 25 |
In the interests of the minority | 15 | 13 | 17 | 16 | 16 | 13 |
In the interests of the narrow minority | 7 | 8 | 5 | 6 | 9 | 6 |
In the interests of the a small group of people | 16 | 17 | 13 | 16 | 19 | 16 |
Don’t know | 16 | 10 | 14 | 17 | 14 | 22 |
Legitimacy index | 43 | 48 | 49 | 43 | 40 | 40 |
What future in the Russian politics does Vladimir Zhirinovsky have? (closed-ended question, one answer, %) | ||||||
| Total respondents | Aged 18-24 | Aged 25-34 | Aged 35-44 | Aged 45-59 | Aged 60 and more |
He has good prospects for the future | 8 | 15 | 6 | 10 | 7 | 8 |
He has achieved a lot but he can hardly achieve more | 59 | 52 | 58 | 61 | 62 | 59 |
He does not have political future | 22 | 23 | 21 | 18 | 24 | 23 |
Don’t know | 11 | 10 | 15 | 11 | 7 | 10 |
Note: Using materials from the website www.wciom.ru or wciom.com, as well as distributed by VCIOM, the reference to the source (or hyperlink for the electronic media) is obligatory. Full or partial reproduction of the Medialogia Company materials in other media must contain a reference to the Medialogia Company.