MOSCOW, May, 11, 2007. Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VCIOM) submits information about Russians' attitudes to ‘marches of protest' and their participants, what do they think of those participants and militia actions.

Only 5% of respondents identify they have been watching protest actions closely. Other 43% ‘have heard something' about it. 49% are not aware of these ‘marches' at all. And there are 58% of those who have not heard anything about ‘marches of protest' within youth of 18-24 years old

Mainly information about ‘marches of protest' was received via television (as 42% of overall respondents and 65% of Muscovites identify). Less often respondents identified radio and press (7% each). Some got information from friends and relatives (5%). Other 3% got to know about ‘marches' via internet (1% of rural inhabitants and up to 6% in Moscow and St Petersburg).

Only 3% of interviewed say they had comprehensively discussed protest actions with friends/relatives. 13% have noticed this issue in conversations. The majority of 72% have not discussed it at all.

What goals were initiators and participants intend to achieve? 72% were not able to name anything. 8% suppose it was an attempt to draw authorities' attention to certain social problems. 5% think that the purpose was to distract Russians from the real problems and destabilize the state. Other purposes respondents identified were struggle for observance of civic rights and liberties (5%), an attempt to stand out of other political organizations (4%), expressing non-agreement with current state policy (4%), etc.

The overwhelming majority of respondents (95%) can not say what slogans were the ‘protesting' ones advancing. Some said that ‘protesters' wanted fundamental changes of country's policy to be made (1%), lowering housing and communal services rates (1%), wages increase (1%) and pensions increase (1%).

17% of respondents support these ‘marches' (3% of them are ready to participate and 14% are feeling supportive to ‘protesting' but not going to participate). 26% of respondents are opponents of ‘marches' (9% of them think that such actions should be prohibited and 17% do not support these actions, but they admit ‘marches' participants' rights to protest). 30% of the interviewed are indifferent to ‘marches', other 27% are in difficulty with estimating ‘marches' anyhow. Muscovites and St Petersburg citizens are the least supportive to these actions (10% of supporters, 27% of opponents).

In opinion of 27% of respondents the participants of these actions are those who are not satisfied with their lives and authorities' policy. 22% of respondents think these people are having fun this way in their spare time. 11% describe protest actions participants as honest, caring for the country men of principles. 6% say they are mentally unstable, inclined to asocial behavior. Moscow and St Petersburg respondents see ‘marches' participants just as slackers (44%), in other types of population centers they are viewed as residents who are really dissatisfied with country policy.

Whose interests are represented by initiators of ‘marches'? In the view of 24% of respondents they represent the interests of those citizens whose rights were violated somehow. 23% of respondents say ‘marches' represent radical opposition and politicians who are ‘dismissed' from their posts. 13% think ‘marches' represent opinions of many people. 9% say they are organized by foreign special services. 38% are in difficulty to answer. Moscow citizens' position stands out: many of them think that these actions are held to represent interests of oppositional politicians who have been ‘dismissed' (45% of Muscovites against 23% of Russians overall), some Muscovites believe they are organized by foreign special services (26% against 9% in average).

Militia actions are approved by 11% of respondents and not approved by 15%. In Moscow and St Petersburg correlation differs: 20% estimate militiamen actions as right ones and 14% think they were unacceptable. Half of Russians does not know anything about militia activity and one fourth of respondents are in difficulty to answer.

All-Russia opinion poll was conducted by VCIOM, April, 28-29, 2007. 1600 respondents were interviewed in 153 population centers of 46 regions of Russia. The statistical error does not exceed 3.4%.