This survey took place between 19 and 24 February 2016 and was conducted throughout all of Russia in both urban and rural settings. The survey was carried out among 1600 people over the age of 18 in 137 localities of 48 of the country’s regions. The survey was conducted as a personal interview in respondents’ homes. The answer distribution is presented as percentages of the number of participants along with data from previous surveys. The statistical error of these studies does not exceed 3.4%.
DO YOU BELIEVE THAT RUSSIA CURRENTLY HAS A POLITICAL OPPOSITION?
|
May 04 |
Jul. 05 |
Jun. 06 |
Jun. 07 |
Jul. 08 |
Jul. 09 |
Jul. 11 |
Jul. 12 |
May 14 |
Feb. 15 |
Feb. 16 |
|
| Definitely yes | 18 | 14 | 11 | 20 | 15 | 11 | 16 | 21 | 10 | 20 | 17 |
| Probably yes | 24 | 27 | 26 | 33 | 31 | 28 | 35 | 45 | 40 | 46 | 37 |
| Probably no | 25 | 22 | 27 | 14 | 22 | 26 | 33 | 18 | 24 | 14 | 19 |
| Definitely no | 13 | 13 | 12 | 7 | 13 | 12 | 14 | 6 | 9 | 6 | 8 |
| It is difficult to say | 20 | 24 | 24 | 25 | 19 | 22 | 2 | 11 | 17 | 14 | 18 |
DO YOU BELIEVE THAT RUSSIA CURRENTLY NEEDS A POLITICAL OPPOSITION?
|
May. 04 |
Jul. 05 |
Jun. 06 |
Jul. 07 |
Jul. 08 |
Jul. 09 |
Jul. 10 |
Jul. 11 |
Jul. 12 |
May. 14 |
Feb. 15 |
Feb. 16 |
|
| Definitely yes | 32 | 34 | 27 | 25 | 27 | 25 | 23 | 27 | 29 | 18 | 18 | 19 |
| Probably yes | 29 | 30 | 29 | 34 | 34 | 32 | 44 | 45 | 43 | 39 | 40 | 33 |
| Probably no | 12 | 9 | 14 | 9 | 14 | 15 | 12 | 19 | 10 | 19 | 16 | 16 |
| Definitely no | 5 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 9 |
| It is difficult to say | 22 | 23 | 24 | 27 | 17 | 24 | 16 | 2 | 15 | 20 | 20 | 24 |
WHY DO YOU THINK THAT RUSSIA NEEDS AN OPPOSITION? (as a percentage of those respondents who believe that Russia currently needs a political opposition; multiple answers)
| Oct.00 | Oct.10 | Feb.15 | Feb.16 | |
| To keep power under control/ restrain it from going too far | 47 | 53 | 42 | 41 |
| To give society a choice between government and opposition platforms | 30 | 27 | 27 | 29 |
| To foster dialog between the government and the people | 19 | 27 | 29 | 28 |
| To allow for consideration of the political minority’s interests when making governmental decisions | 13 | 20 | 16 | 19 |
| To provide democratic elections and change of power (today’s opposition is tomorrow’s administration) | 22 | 18 | 19 | 13 |
| Other | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 |
| It is difficult to say | 5 | 3 | 2 | 3 |
WHY DO YOU THINK THAT RUSSIA DOES NOT NEED AN OPPOSITION? (as a percentage of those respondents who believe that Russia does not currently need an opposition; multiple answers)
| Oct.00 | Oct.10 | Feb.15 | Feb.16 | |
| In these difficult times, society’s energies cannot be frittered away on arguments and squabbles | 33 | 31 | 30 | 31 |
| The problems faced by Russia today can only be solved by a single firm hand | 23 | 27 | 23 | 26 |
| The opposition prevents Putin from effectively solving Russia’s problems | 49 | 17 | 15 | 22 |
| Putin’s policies reflect the interests of a broad demographic range | 9 | 18 | 17 | 18 |
| Oppositional leaders are self-serving and have a low moral character | 6 | 14 | 10 | 11 |
| Other | 2 | 3 | 5 | 3 |
| It is difficult to say | 6 | 10 | 10 | 3 |
SOME BELIEVE THAT PUBLIC RALLIES AND DEMONSTRATIONS ARE A NORMAL, DEMOCRATIC WAY FOR CITIZENS TO EXPRESS THEIR POSITIONS, AND THAT THE GOVERNMENT DOES NOT HAVE THE RIGHT TO PROHIBIT THEM. OTHERS BELIEVE THAT PUBLIC RALLIES AND DEMONSTRATIONS ARE DESTABILIZING, UPSET ORDER, AND THAT IT IS NECESSARY TO PROHIBIT THEM. WHICH OF THESE VIEWS IS CLOSEST TO YOUR OWN?
|
May 08 |
Apr. 10 |
Apr. 11 |
Jun. 12 |
Oct. 12 |
Jul. 13 |
Feb. 15 |
Feb. 16 |
|
| Public rallies and demonstrations are a normal democratic method for citizens to achieve their goals, and the government cannot prohibit them | 55 | 59 | 54 | 51 | 48 | 54 | 54 | 57 |
| If public rallies and demonstrations bother others or create disorder / are an instrument of destabilization, then the government should prohibit them | 32 | 27 | 35 | 37 | 39 | 37 | 34 | 31 |
| It is difficult to say | 12 | 14 | 11 | 13 | 13 | 9 | 12 | 13 |
WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING OPPOSITION POLITICIANS DO YOU KNOW? (multiple answers; respondents were given a card with politicians’ names)
| Feb.14 | Feb.16 | |
| Vladimir Zhirinovsky | 68 | 69 |
| Gennady Zyuganov | 62 | 63 |
| Mikhail Khodorkovsky | – * | 45 |
| Grigory Yavlinsky | 42 | 44 |
| Sergey Mironov | 45 | 41 |
| Mikhail Prokhorov | 49 | 37 |
| Mikhail Kasyanov | 26 | 36 |
| Aleksey Navalny | 32 | 36 |
| Aleksey Kudrin | 29 | 27 |
| Garry Kasparov | 28 | 25 |
| Eduard Limonov | 25 | 21 |
| Vladimir Ryzhkov | 20 | 18 |
| Sergey Udaltsov | 23 | 14 |
| Sergey Mitrokhin | 14 | 12 |
| Dmitry Gudkov | 13 | 11 |
| Oksana Dmitrieva | 10 | 11 |
| Ilya Ponomarev | 8 | 9 |
| Ilya Yashin | 5 | 6 |
| Evgeny Royzman | 10 | 6 |
| Igor Strelkov | – | 6 |
| Vladimir Milov | 3 | 5 |
| Aleksandr Belov (Potkin) | – | 3 |
| Dmitry Demushkin | – | 3 |
| Oleg Shein | 4 | 3 |
| Lev Shlosberg | – | 2 |
| Emiliya Slabunova | – | 2 |
| Boris Nemtsov | 45 | – |
| Gennady Gudkov | 24 | – |
| Irina Prokhorova | 9 | – |
| Maksim Martsinkevich (Tesak) | 4 | – |
| Other | 1 | <1 |
| None | 8 | 7 |
| It is difficult to say | 11 | 10 |
– * Politician was not presented as a choice to respondents.WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING OPPOSITION
POLITICIANS DO YOU TRUST? (multiple answers; respondents were given a card with politicians’ names)
| фев.14 | фев.16 | |
| Vladimir Zhirinovsky | 12 | 21 |
| Gennady Zyuganov | 17 | 20 |
| Sergey Mironov | 8 | 10 |
| Mikhail Prokhorov | 8 | 4 |
| Aleksey Kudrin | 3 | 4 |
| Aleksey Navalny | 3 | 4 |
| Oksana Dmitrieva | 2 | 4 |
| Grigory Yavlinsky | 5 | 3 |
| Igor Strelkov | – | 3 |
| Mikhail Khodorkovsky | – | 2 |
| Vladimir Ryzhkov | 3 | 1 |
| Evgeny Royzman | 1 | 1 |
| Mikhail Kasyanov | 1 | 1 |
| Sergey Mitrokhin | 1 | 1 |
| Garry Kasparov | 1 | 1 |
| Eduard Limonov | 1 | 1 |
| Oleg Shein | 1 | 1 |
| Ilya Yashin | 1 | 1 |
| Sergey Udaltsov | <1 | 1 |
| Dmitry Gudkov | <1 | 1 |
| Dmitry Demushkin, Ilya Ponomarev, Lev Shlosberg, Emiliya Slabunova, Aleksandr Belov (Potkin), Vladimir Milov | In February 2016 <1 each | |
| Boris Nemtsov | 1 | – |
| Irina Prokhorova | 1 | – |
| Gennady Gudkov | 1 | – |
| Maksim Martsinkevich (Tesak) | <1 | – |
| Other | <1 | <1 |
| None | 37 | 37 |
| It is difficult to say | 21 | 19 |
WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING OPPOSITION POLITICIANS DO YOU NOT TRUST? (multiple answers; respondents were given a card with politicians’ names)
| Feb.14 | Feb.16 | |
| Mikhail Khodorkovsky | – | 24 |
| Grigory Yavlinsky | 13 | 17 |
| Mikhail Kasyanov | 8 | 17 |
| Vladimir Zhirinovsky | 19 | 17 |
| Aleksey Navalny | 10 | 15 |
| Mikhail Prokhorov | 14 | 14 |
| Gennady Zyuganov | 11 | 13 |
| Garry Kasparov | – | 9 |
| Sergey Mironov | 9 | 8 |
| Eduard Limonov | 9 | 7 |
| Aleksey Kudrin | 6 | 6 |
| Vladimir Ryzhkov | 5 | 6 |
| Sergey Udaltsov | 8 | 6 |
| Sergey Mitrokhin | 3 | 3 |
| Dmitry Gudkov | 5 | 3 |
| Ilya Ponomarev | – | 3 |
| Ilya Yashin | 2 | 2 |
| Evgeny Royzman | 2 | 1 |
| Emiliya Slabunova | – | 1 |
| Oksana Dmitrieva | 1 | 1 |
| Lev Shlosberg | – | 1 |
| Aleksandr Belov (Potkin) | – | 1 |
| Vladimir Milov | – | 1 |
| Igor Strelkov | – | 1 |
| Dmitry Demushkin, Oleg Shein | In February 2016 <1 each | |
| Boris Nemtsov | 17 | – |
| Gennady Gudkov | 8 | – |
| Garry Kasparov | 7 | – |
| Irina Prokhorov | 2 | – |
| Maksim Martsinkevich (Tesak) | 1 | – |
| Other | <1 | 1 |
| None | 21 | 20 |
| It is difficult to say | 32 | 31 |
DO YOU SUPPORT THE PROPOSED PLACEMENT OF A PLAQUE IN MEMORY OF BORIS NEMTSOV ON THE MOSCOW BRIDGE WHERE HE WAS ASSASSINATED?
| All of Russia | Moscow | |
| Definitely yes | 5 | 15 |
| Probably yes | 14 | 22 |
| Probably no | 16 | 14 |
| Definitely no | 21 | 15 |
| Not interested | 38 | 30 |
| It is difficult to say | 6 | 4 |
DO YOU AGREE OR DISAGREE WITH THE OPINION THAT NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS AND THOSE CRITICAL OF THE GOVERNMENT ARE COMING UNDER INCREASED PRESSURE AND PERSECUTION IN CONNECTION WITH THE COMING RUSSIAN PRESIDENTIAL AND STATE DUMA ELECTIONS?
| Feb.16 | |
| Definitely agree | 9 |
| Probably agree | 33 |
| Probably disagree | 28 |
| Definitely disagree | 7 |
| It is difficult to say | 23 |
Translated by Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey (formerly Monterey Institute of International Studies).