MOSCOW, February 12, 2008 Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VCIOM) presents information on how Russians estimate the work activity of government members.

Assessments that the respondents provide regarding the work activity of members of the government in 2007 are a lot more stable if compared to the ones given before. The only two indexes to have noticeably changed are the approval of work that the respondents give to D. Medvedev (the estimation is now 9% more positive) and to A. Gordeev (the estimation is now 7% more positive). The shares of respondents who positively estimate the work of S. Shoigu (81%), S. Lavrov (50%), R. Nurgaliev (33-35%), A. Kudrin (27-30%), A. Fursenko (24-25%), V. Khristenko (22-23%), I. Levitin (19-21%), A. Sokolov (19-20%), etc. have remained unchanged. As to the ministers appointed in 2007, 31% of respondents approve of the working activity of T. Golikova and D. Kozak, 29% think positively of A. Serdyukov's political activity and, finally, 24% positively estimate the work of E. Nabiullina.

The ex-Minister of Health and Social Development M. Zurabov occupied the first place in the ministerial "anti rating" a year ago: the majority of respondents (60%) negatively estimated his political activity. No minister is now causing a negative reaction like that in the society. A. Fursenko and A. Gordeev are the ones who now lead the negative rating (28% of respondents do not approve of the work activity of each of these politicians). They are closely followed by A. Kudrin, but the share of respondents negatively estimating his work has reduced during the last three years (from 33% down to 26%). Similar changes may be observed in the case with V. Khristenko (the share of negative estimations of his work has decreased from 30% down to 25%). Among the recently appointed ministers, E. Nabiullina is the one who most often than others receives critical estimations (24%). The least negative estimations are associated with S. Shoigu (only 7%, this index equalled 12% just a year ago).

Respondents are still the least informed on the work activity of Minister of Communications and Informatization L. Reyman (70% of respondents have never heard about him). Over half of respondents do not really know anything not only about the new ministers (E. Nabiullina (59%), A. Serdukov (56%), D. Kozak (55%), T. Golikova (52%)), but also about the "old" ones: Y. Trutnev (62%), A. Sokolov (61%), I. Levitin (58%), A. Zhukov (55%), V. Ustinov (54%), V. Khristenko (52%). Among the members of the government the ones most familiar to Russians are S. Shoigu and D. Medvedev (only 12-14% of respondents do not know anything about them).

S.Shoigu leads in the best minister rating, just as he did before (58%, this index used to equal 63% a year ago), D. Medvedev and S. Ivanov have exchanged places in this rating, D. Medvedev has moved to the second place (54%, cf.: 44% last year), C. Ivanov, in his turn, now occupies the third place in the rating (36%, cf.: 45% last year). S. Lavrov is on the fourth place in the rating, just as he was a year ago (17%, cf.: 19% last year).

The initiative all-Russia opinion poll was conducted by VCIOM on February 2-3, 2008. 1600 respondents were interviewed in 153 population areas of 46 regions of Russia. The statistical error does not exceed 3.4%