Most of Russians do not believe that the situation in Ukraine will get better after the elections. Whether Russia should recognize the election results is controversial.
MOSCOW, April 23, 2014. Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VCIOM) presents the information concerning the following questions: how many Russians know about the Ukrainian elections taking place on May 25th; how the situation will change after the elections; whether Russia should recognize the results of the elections.
The upcoming presidential elections in Ukraine that will take place on May 25, sparked massive public outcry in Russia; 88% of respondents knew about elections during the survey. One–quarter of respondents (24%) keep a sharp eye on the electoral campaign; two-thirds (64%) display no interest in it. The older the respodnents are, the more attention they pay to this question: whereas 17% of 18-34-year-old Russians follow the preparation for the elections, the share of such respondents among those who are aged over 60 is 33%.
Yulia Timoshenko is the most popular candidate among all candidates; 82% of respondents heard about her. Half of respondents (47%) know Dmitry Yarosh. Every third respondent (35%) heard about Petr Poroshenko. One-fifth of respondents heard about Oleg Tyahnybok (23%); 20% - Petr Simonenko (He withdrew from candidacy); Mikhail Dobkin - 17%; Oleg Lyashko - 17%; Sergey Tigipko - 16%. At the same time, 6% say that they do not know about any of the candidates.
Asked about what candidate conforms to the Ukrainian national interests, a relative majority of Russians (44%) conclude that none of them. One-third of respondents (36%) give no answer. Only few respondents managed to remember names, firstly Petr Simonenko (3%) (He withdrew from candidacy) and Mikhail Dobkin (2%).
Russian opinion divided over the situation after elections. Thirty-six percent of Russians believe that the situation in Ukraine will be the same; 35% say that the situation will get even worse. Only 8% of respondents say that the situation will get better. Other 8% believe that elections will not happen.
The question on whether Russia should recognize the election results is ambiguous. Whereas 35% of Russians say that Russia must officially recognize the election results, 39% oppose them. Those who say that election results must be recognized are residents of million cities (53%); those who support the later position are mainly Muscovites and St.Petersburgians.
The VCIOM opinion poll was conducted on May 17-18, 2014. 1600 respondents were interviewed in 130 communities in 42 regions of Russia. Data are weighted by gender, age, education, working status and type of settlement. The margin of error does not exceed 3.4%.
Have you heard/do you hear for the first time that the Ukrainian presidential election are taking place on May 25? If yes, do you follow the electoral campaign? (closed-ended question, one answer) | ||||||
| Total respondents | Aged 18-24 | Aged 25-34 | Aged 35-44 | Aged 45-59 | Aged 60 and more |
Yes, I heard; I follow attentively the electoral campaign | 24 | 17 | 17 | 21 | 27 | 33 |
Yes, I heard, but I do not follow the electoral campaign | 64 | 64 | 68 | 67 | 65 | 57 |
I hear for the first time about elections | 11 | 16 | 15 | 11 | 7 | 8 |
Don`t know | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Which candidates do you know/have you heard about/ have your read about? | |
| Total respondents |
Yulia Timoshenko | 82 |
Dmitry Yarosh | 47 |
Petr Poroshenko | 35 |
Oleg Tyahnybok | 23 |
Petr Simonenko | 20 |
Mikhail Dobkin | 17 |
Oleg Lyashko | 17 |
Sergey Tigipko | 16 |
None | 6 |
I think that elections will fail | 1 |
Other | 1 |
Don`t know | 6 |
Who conforms to the Ukraine`s national interests in case of victory? | |
| Total respondents |
None | 44 |
Petr Simonenko | 3 |
Mikhail Dobkin | 2 |
Oleg Lyashko | 1 |
Petr Poroshenko | 1 |
Yulia Timoshenko | 1 |
Dmitry Yarosh | 1 |
Sergey Tigipko | less1 |
Oleg Tyahnybok | less1 |
I think that elections will fail | 8 |
Other | 2 |
Don`t know | 36 |
In your opinion, how will the situation in Ukraine change after the May 25 presidential elections? (closed-ended question, one answer) | |||||||
| Total respondents | Supporters of A Just Russia party | Supporters of LDPR | Supporters of CPRF | Supporters of United Russia party | Supporters of non-parliament parties | I would not take part in elections |
Situation will get better | 8 | 10 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 28 | 10 |
Situation will hardly change | 36 | 43 | 40 | 37 | 38 | 24 | 31 |
Situation will get worse | 35 | 38 | 35 | 34 | 35 | 32 | 35 |
Elections will not happen | 8 | 5 | 9 | 13 | 8 | 8 | 3 |
Don`t know | 13 | 5 | 8 | 8 | 11 | 8 | 20 |
In your opinion, should Russia recognize the results of the presidential elections in Ukraine, or not? (closed-ended question, one answer) | |||||||
| Total respondents | Moscow and St. Petersburg | Million cities | More than 500 ths | 100–500 ths | Less than 100 ths | Rural area |
Definitely yes | 7 | 2 | 19 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 3 |
Rather yes | 28 | 15 | 34 | 27 | 27 | 23 | 36 |
Rather no | 25 | 31 | 27 | 23 | 24 | 26 | 30 |
Definitely no | 14 | 29 | 6 | 17 | 9 | 14 | 17 |
Elections will not happen | 7 | 2 | less1 | 4 | 15 | 11 | 2 |
Don`t know | 19 | 22 | 14 | 23 | 18 | 18 | 12 |
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!