Results of our studies

IN BRIEF

The popularity of most of non-system opposition leaders stopped rising. Their support by the public has stayed at the same level or even decreased.

MOSCOW, April 23, 2013. Russian Public Opinion Research Centre (VCIOM) presents the data concerning the following questions: whether Russians know the leaders of non-system opposition; how they treat them, what Navalny is known for; what feelings they have about him; what Russians think about his political activity.

Alexey Navalny is not the most popular opposition leader: 53% of respondents know him in a varying degree; 47% have heard about him during the poll.  More recognizable persons are Boris Nemtsov (78%), Garry Kasparov (76%), and Mikhail Kasyanov (68%).

The attitudes of Russians towards Alexey Navalny have recently worsened: among those who know him the share of persons perceiving him negatively has increased from 31 to 51% since February last year. The proportion of those who treat him positively is 19%. The shares of those who negatively perceive the following persons have also grown: Evgeniya Chirikova (from 39 to 45%), Sergey Udaltsov (from 39 to 45%), and Boris Nemtsov (from 50 to 59%).

Russians do not know much about the activities of Alexey Navalny: all they know is that his activity involves opposition actions (14%), fight against corruption, and social and political activities (2%, for each).

Those who more or less know A.Navalny are indifferent to what he does (40%). The remainder treat him negatively: distrust - 15%, trust – only 2%.  Eight percent of Russians are skeptical about him: 7% feel antipathy; 6% - condemnation; the share of those who feel liking or respect towards him is 6% (per each group).

Those who know who Navalny is say that he does politics because he is striving for power (13%) or fighting against the current regime (10%).  Rarer respondents say that he is fighting for justice (6%) or against corruption (3%). Seven percent are confident that this is nothing but a publicity move, but others mention that he wants to be rich, destabilize the situation in the country, or he does what the West tells him to do (3% per each group).  

The initiative Russian opinion polls were conducted on April 13-14, 2013. 1600 respondents were interviewed at 130 sampling points in 42 regions of Russia. The margin of error does not exceed 3.4%.

Which of the following politicians and public persons do you know?
(close-ended question, one answer per each position)

 

I know him/her well

I have heard something

I hear for the first time

 

February 2012  

September  2012

April 2013

February 2012 г

September  2012

April 2013

February 2012

September  2012

April 2013

Nemtsov Boris

37

36

30

44

40

48

20

25

22

Kasparov Garry

-

31

35

-

38

41

-

30

24

Kasyanov Mikhail

25

21

22

38

39

45

38

40

32

Gudkov Gennady  

5

19

16

16

41

46

79

40

38

Navalny Alexey

9

16

15

20

32

38

71

52

47

Ryzhkov Vladimir

22

14

12

33

28

32

45

58

55

Udaltsov Sergey

3

13

13

10

26

35

87

60

51

Ponomarev Il`ya

3

6

5

11

17

21

87

77

75

Yashin Il`ya

-

6

5

-

18

19

-

76

76

Chirikova Evgeniya

3

5

3

9

15

18

88

80

79

Romanova Olga

-

4

3

-

13

15

-

83

82

How do you perceive the following persons (positively/negatively)?
(close-ended question, one answer per each position, % of those who know these persons)

 

Kasparov Garry

 

February 2012

September  2012

April 2013

Rather positively

-

40

46

Rather negatively

-

30

28

Hard to tell

-

30

26

 

Yashin Il`ya

 

February 2012

September  2012

April 2013

Rather positively

-

29

29

Rather negatively

-

36

38

Hard to tell

-

35

33

 

Romanova Olga

 

February 2012

September  2012

April 2013

Rather positively

-

27

14

Rather negatively

-

39

45

Hard to tell

-

34

41

 

Ryzhkov Vladimir

 

February 2012  

September  2012

April 2013

Rather positively

22

29

33

Rather negatively

38

35

36

Hard to tell

40

36

32

 

Chirikova Evgeniya

 

February 2012  

September  2012

April 2013

Rather positively

22

28

16

Rather negatively

24

39

45

Hard to tell

54

33

39

 

Udaltsov Sergey

 

February 2012

September  2012

April 2013

Rather positively

18

27

17

Rather negatively

26

42

55

Hard to tell

56

31

28

 

Gudkov Gennady

 

February 2012

September  2012

April 2013

Rather positively

24

24

23

Rather negatively

29

43

48

Hard to tell

47

32

29

 

Kasyanov Mikhail

 

February 2012

September  2012

April 2013

Rather positively

17

23

26

Rather negatively

46

41

44

Hard to tell

37

36

30

 

Nemtsov Boris

 

February 2012

September  2012

April 2013

Rather positively

20

22

20

Rather negatively

53

50

59

Hard to tell

28

28

22

 

Navalny Alexey

 

February 2012

September  2012

April 2013

Rather positively

24

22

19

Rather negatively

31

43

51

Hard to tell

46

34

30

 

Ponomarev Il`ya

 

February 2012

September  2012

April 2013

Rather positively

23

21

19

Rather negatively

28

40

39

Hard to tell

49

39

42

Do you know anything about the activities of A.Navalny?  Who is he? What is he known for?
(open-ended question, any number of answers) 

Opposition leader, he takes part in rallies

14

He is fighting against corruption; he expose officials

2

Public and political person

2

Lawyer

1

Businessman

1

Blogger

1

Corruptionist

1

Instigator 

1

He defends his political interests

1

He wants to improve his image;  he is striving for power

1

He is sponsored by West

1

I only heard his surname; I know nothing about what he does

26

I heard for the first time his name

47

Hard to tell

3

What do you feel about A.Navalny?
(close-ended question, up to two answers, % of those who know him or who have heard about him)

Indifference

40

Distrust

15

Skepsis

8

Antipathy

7

Liking

6

Respect

6

Condemnation

6

Hope

5

Disappointment

2

Trust

2

Admiration

1

Hatred

1

Love

0

Hard to tell

14

Navalny has recently been actively participating in politics. In your opinion, why does he do that?
(open-ended question, any number of answers, % of those who know him or who have heard about him)

He is striving for power

13

He represents opposition; he is fighting against the current power

10

He wants to attract attention; publicity move

7

He is fighting for justice, equality and honest elections  

6

He is fighting against corruption he wants to expose officials and deputies

3

He wants to be rich

3

He does what the West tells him to do  

3

He wants to destabilize the situation in the country

3

Other

1

I hear about his political activity for the first time

23

Hard to tell

30

Note: Using materials from the site 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!

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