28% of Russians support the idea to restore monarchy in Russia; however they fail to name a person who could be a new tsar.
MOSCOW, March 19, 2013. Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VCIOM) presents the information concerning the following issues: What form of government do Russians support – monarchy or republic? What do Russians think about monarchy in general? Who could be a monarch in the modern Russia?
Every tenth Russian is in favor of monarchy when choosing between monarchy and republic (11%). The share of those supporting the autocracy is twice more in metropolitan areas (19%). The current form of government – republic - is supported by the overwhelming majority of the polled persons (82%). The share of such respondents is bigger in average and small cities (84-86%).
Two-thirds of Russians oppose monarchy saying that the autocracy is past the point in the Russian history (67%). Those who think so are basically supporters of the CPRF (74%) and elderly respondents (70%). The share of those who do not oppose monarchy is 28%; most of them represent the LDPR electorate (36%) and Russians aged 45-59 (31%). But even those who are loyal towards autocracy cannot name a person who could be Russian monarch today; the share of such respondents has increased from 19 to 24% over the recent four years.
When asked to name a person who could be Russian monarch, most of Russians proposed to find him among public figures and politicians (13%), rather than among descendents of the Romanov Dynasty (6%). Seventy percent of Russians believe it is impossible and wrong to restore the Russian monarchy today.
The initiative Russian opinion polls were conducted on March 9-10, 2013. 1600 respondents were interviewed at 138 sampling points in 46 regions of Russia. The margin of error does not exceed 3.4%.
What form of government suits Russia most, in your opinion? | |||||||
| Total respondents | Moscow and St. Petersburg | Million cities | More than 500 thousand | 100 - 500 thousand | Less than 100 thousand | Rural area |
Monarchy where the supreme power is inherited | 11 | 19 | 10 | 14 | 9 | 8 | 11 |
Republic where the ruler is elected by means of voting | 82 | 69 | 79 | 78 | 86 | 86 | 84 |
Hard to tell | 7 | 12 | 11 | 8 | 5 | 6 | 6 |
What statement about monarchy is closer to yours? (close-ended question, one answer) | ||
| 2006 | 2013 |
I am for the Russian monarchy and I know a person who could become a monarch | 3 | 4 |
I am not against monarchy, but I do not know anyone who could be Russian monarch | 19 | 24 |
I am against Russian monarchy; for Russia it is past the point | 66 | 67 |
Hard to tell | 12 | 6 |
If Russia returned to monarchy, who could be Russian monarch, in your opinion? | ||
2006 | 2013 | |
Representative of the Romanov Dynasty – descendant of the last Russian emperor | 6 | 6 |
Russian politician or public figure elected by people by means of referendum or Zemsky Sobor | 10 | 13 |
Other | 3 | 2 |
I believe for the time being it is wrong to restore the Russian monarchy | 66 | 70 |
Hard to tell | 15 | 9 |
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!