MOSCOW, February 27, 2008 Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VCIOM) presents information on how Russians estimate V. Putin’s speech at the extended session of the State Council on February 7 with a development programme for the country up till 2020.
About one third of Russians are informed of V. Putin’s speech (36%), this includes 12% who attentively followed the speech and 24% who know about its main points due to the information received from the mass media. Nearly half of respondents (48%) are not informed of the speech and 13% ignored it, not being interested in politics.
Russians in the age group “60+” are the ones who pay the most interest to the president's speech: 19% of them have heard it personally and 28% learned about its content from the news blocks. The least interest is expressed by the youth aged 18 to 24 years, only 7% of respondents in this age group listened to the president’s speech and 15% learned about its main aspects from the media.
Respondents who are familiar with the content of the president’s speech, mostly remembered and liked such topics as the strategy for the country's development; the development of the social sector; improving the quality of life (12% mentioned each of these options); increase in pensions, cash benefits, loans (8%); the housing issue; foreign policy (5% for each option), introducing new technologies; ensuring national security (4% for each option).
The majority of respondents informed of the president’s speech (89%) find it hard to name any issues or ideas that they did not like. 3% of respondents do not trust what the president promises. 2% did not notice any concrete proposals as to how to improve their living standards. 1% indicate that there should be a higher rate of increase in pensions and that V. Putin pays too much attention to his own achievements, whereas 5% identify that there was nothing in the president's speech that they could not like.
The president's speech caused hope and inspiration in every fourth Russian (24%). Every sixth respondent believes that there were correct thoughts and proposals expressed in the speech, but they had already voiced earlier, and no improvements for the better have set in since that time. Only 1% of respondents did not agree with the ideas mentioned by the president or paid no attention to them whatsoever.
28% of respondents approving of V. Putin’s political activity as President, felt hope and inspiration after his speech; no more than 5% of respondents disapproving of President’s political activity, felt the same. 14% of respondents from the first group and 23% of the second one expressed scepticism (these are all the right ideas, but there are no real changes for the better); 1% in the first group felt non-agreement or indifference, whereas 5-7% in the second group did.
The initiative all-Russia opinion poll was conducted by VCIOM on February 16-17, 2008. 1600 respondents were interviewed in 153 population areas of 46 regions of Russia. The statistical error does not exceed 3.4%
President Vladimir Putin made a speech at the State Council session presenting the development programme for the country up till 2020. Did you follow the president’s speech? | ||||||
| Total respondents | Age, years | ||||
18-24 | 25-34 | 35-44 | 45-59 | 60 and older | ||
Yes, I did. I attentively listened to the President’s speech | 12 | 7 | 9 | 10 | 13 | 19 |
I did not follow the President’s speech, but I learned about its main ideas from news blocks | 24 | 15 | 20 | 27 | 28 | 28 |
No, I did not follow the President’s speech | 48 | 54 | 53 | 47 | 45 | 43 |
I am not interested in politics, I do not really care about it | 13 | 22 | 16 | 14 | 11 | 8 |
Hard to say | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 |
If you followed the president’s speech, what ideas and proposals that it contained, did you NOT like? Please, name 2 or 3 of them (A free-answer question, up to three responses) | |
I likely everything about it | 5 |
These were just sheer promises, there are no real deeds to back them up | 3 |
There were no concrete proposals on how to improve the population’s living standards | 2 |
They should provide a higher increase in pensions | 1 |
He talked about his own achievements too long | 1 |
Hard to say | 89 |
How would you generally estimate Vladimir Putin’s speech at the State Council session? | ||||
| Total respondents | Approving / disapproving of V. Putin’s political activity | ||
Approving | Disapproving | Hard to say | ||
It inspires hope and excitement in me | 24 | 28 | 5 | 12 |
It had correct ideas and proposals in it, but we have also heard them earlier and there were no real changes done in this respect | 16 | 14 | 23 | 26 |
I do not agree with the majority of ideas expressed by the president | 1 | 1 | 5 | 1 |
I am not interested in anything that the president said. | 1 | 1 | 7 | 2 |
I did not hear his speech | 49 | 48 | 52 | 51 |
Hard to say | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 |