Two-thirds of the Russian population believe the joint management of Putin and Medvedev is effective and long-term.
MOSCOW, December 14, 2010. In mid-December 2007, three years ago, four parties such as United Russia, Fair Russia, Agrarian party and Civil Force nominated Dmitry Medvedev as a presidential candidate. We are presenting the data concerning how Russians assess the ruling politicians, whether they regard Putin-Medvedev joint management as effective, and for how long the alliance of the two politicians will last.
The attitudes of Russians towards those who rule the country have considerably changed compared to that of 1994 and 2000. Russians thought that the ruling politicians were concerned about their financial well-being and career (53% in 1994, 44% in 2000). Currently, the politicians are perceived as a good team leading the country in the right direction (42 versus 5% in 1994). Nevertheless, every third (31%) still thinks they are targeted at personal well-being. There are also those who think that modern politicians are honest but weak and low competent. Compared to 1994, the number of such respondents has declined (from 20 to 11% and from 22 to 16% respectively).
Almost two-thirds of respondents believe that the joint management of Putin and Medvedev is effective (60%). They are basically supporters of United Russia party (76%), young Russians (67%), Internet users (63-65%) and Russian with high level of income (72%). At the same time, every fifth (19%) oppose this stance. They are mainly CPRF (43%) and LDPR (40%) party adherents, middle-aged and pre-retirement Russians (25-22%), those with low level of income (29%) and those who do not use Internet at all (20%), or, vice a versa, use Internet every day (18%). The share of positive and negative assessments about the joint work of the two politicians has slightly decreased over the recent year (from 65 to 60 and from 22 to 19% respectively); the share of those who were hard to answer has increased (from 13 to 21%).
Those who regarded Putin-Medvedev leadership as effective a year ago thought it was due to their constructive teamwork (17%). For the time being, respondents mark actual results of the joint work and growth in living standards of the population (12%). Russians also mention stable situation and order in the country and joint teamwork (10% for each). However, the first argument is more popular than it was a year ago (from 4 to 10%), whereas the second one is less actual (from 17 to 10%). The evidence of the effective work is as follows: priority attention to social policy (8%), successful anti-crisis program (7%), right course of the development of the country (6 versus 9% a year ago), improve of the international status of Russia (5 versus 3% a year ago) and other.
Respondents who assess the performance of tandem as being ineffective mention the lack of development and positive changes in the country (18% of the total number of those who call the tandem work ineffective). Most of respondents complained about the fall in living standards a year ago (18%). Nevertheless, many Russians still think so (13%). Much rarer the opponents of Medvedev and Putin mention corrupted authorities (from 6 to 11%), lack of attention to ordinary people (from 4 to 12%) and lack of control over decision implementation (from 4 to 9%). Every tenth is convinced that the main evidence of the tandem`s ineffective work is increase of prices and inflation (11%). Eight percent recall economic crisis; other 8% believe that Putin alone would rule the country more effectively.
Asked about the perspectives of Putin-Medvedev tandem, two-thirds of Russians answered it is long-term and is hardly to come apart in the near future (67% versus 63% a year ago). Those who think so are supporters of United Russia (77%), Russians with low level of education (81%), residents of middle cities and rural area (71% for each), those who rarely use Internet or do not use it at all (69% for each). Fifteen percent of Russians thinks the tandem is not strong inside (11% a year ago). Those who think so are adherents of non-parliament parties (29%), active Internet users (17%) and metropolitan residents (28%). In a few years after the tandem was formed respondents have become more confident forecasting its future: the share of those who were undecided has decreased (from 22 to 14%), and the share of those who gave informative answers has increased instead.
The initiative Russian opinion polls were conducted on 21-22 August and 25-26 September, 2010. 1600 respondents were interviewed at 138 sampling points in 46 regions of Russia. The margin of error does notexceed 3.4%.
How would you assess the ruling politicians? (open-ended question, one answer, % of respondents with informative answers) | |||
| 1994 | 2000 | 2010 |
It is a good team leading the country in the right direction | 5 | 27 | 42 |
They are people who are concerned about their own financial well-being and career | 53 | 44 | 31 |
They are honest but low competent; they do not know how to pull the country out of the economic crisis | 22 | 16 | 16 |
They are honest but weak; they fail to tackle their power and provide order and consistent policies in the country | 20 | 14 | 11 |
It has been two years since Dmitry Medvedev became the president of the RF, and Vladimir Putin - Russian Prime Minister. In your opinion, how effective is their management? (close-ended question, one answer) |
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| 2010 | 2009 |
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Very effective | 10 | 15 |
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Rather effective | 50 | 49 |
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Rather ineffective | 14 | 18 |
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Completely ineffective | 5 | 5 |
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Hard to tell | 21 | 13 |
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If you think Putin-Medvedev joint management is effective, could you tell us why? (open-ended question, not more than three answers, % of those who think the joint management is effective) | |||||
| 2009 | 2010 | |||
We can see the real results of their work, the growth in living standards | 13 | 12 | |||
Stability and order in the country | 4 | 10 | |||
They work as a team | 17 | 10 | |||
They put attention to social policy | 8 | 8 | |||
They take effective anti-crisis measures; the crisis is hardly noticeable | 8 | 7 | |||
They share the common vision of the future of the country | 9 | 6 | |||
They have improved the international status of Russia; they conduct the right foreign policy | 3 | 5 | |||
They ideally complement each other | 4 | 5 | |||
Continuity of policy, stable political course | 4 | 4 | |||
Personal traits: young, energetic, good education | 3 | 4 | |||
It is easier to rule the country in tandem | 3 | 3 | |||
All the problems are tackled immediately | 3 | 2 | |||
Fight against corruption | 0 | 1 | |||
Putin being experienced and strong politician suggest Medvedev what should be done | 4 | 1 | |||
Other | 1 | 1 | |||
Hard to tell | 28 | 30 | |||
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If you think Putin-Medvedev joint management is ineffective, could you tell us why? (open-ended question, not more than three answers, % of those who think the joint management is ineffective) | ||
| 2009 | 2010 |
No changes , no development; nothing is good | 16 | 18 |
Decrease in the living standards | 18 | 13 |
They do not help people; they have forgotten about them | 4 | 12 |
Increase in prices, inflation | 10 | 11 |
They do not control the implementation of their decisions by the state officials | 4 | 9 |
They let the crisis happen and they do not combat the crisis effectively | 12 | 8 |
Together they work less effectively then Putin alone | 9 | 8 |
Incompetent authorities, wrong political course | 5 | 5 |
They delay paying salaries and they decrease salaries | 3 | 2 |
They do not think about the Far East , not putting enough attention to regions | 1 | 0 |
They pay too much attention to foreign policy and do not conduct it in a proper way | 1 | - |
Other | 5 | 0 |
Hard to tell | 13 | 15 |
In your opinion, how long will the Putin-Medvedev tandem exist? (close-ended question, one answer) | ||
| 2009 | 2010 |
The alliance is not firm enough; the political problems will soon destroy it | 11 | 15 |
It is a long-term alliance; I do not see any reasons that could destroy the alliance in the foreseeable future | 63 | 67 |
Other | 4 | 4 |
Hard to tell | 22 | 14 |
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