Russian communists purged from parliament

ChrisD(RJ) chrisd at russiajournal.com
Mon Apr 15 05:33:30 PDT 2002


Novoye Vremya No. 15 April, 2002 THE LAST ONE [from WPS Monitoring Agency, www.wps.ru/e_index.html]

Promises of the Communist Party to become a "tough opposition" to the present government are based on continued mass public support. If the Duma elections were held now, less than half of potential voters would participate in them: 18% would not participate in the elections, and other 18% would mark the "against all" box; 21% pf respondents are unable to determine their political orientation and their attitude toward the elections. A third of the politically active 43% of voters, which is 36% would vote for the Unity and the Fatherland - All Russia bloc, and slightly less than a third, 30% would vote for the Communist Party. These are still the largest groups of voters, which involve two thirds of all electorate.

Close behind are three parties that are to pass to the Duma: Yabloko, which has 15% of votes, the Union of Right Forces, 9%; and the Liberal Democratic Party, supported by approximately 8% of voters. Thus, despite all changes in the Duma and the country, the layout of forces has hardly changed: over a third of voters support the president, slightly less than a third of voters support the communists, and 24% of people support reformers or the right wing, plus 8% of Zhirinovsky's supporters, whose political belonging is rather vague.

There is a traditional opinion that the Communist Party is the party of pensioners and older generation; however, 5% of younger people, under 24 years also give their votes to the communists, 13% of people from 25 to 34 years; 18% of 35-44 year old voters, and 29% of 45-59 year old people also support the communists.

However, if determine the attitude of people to different activities and the program of the party, some people support only some ideas of the Communist Party, say that it "partially presents and partially does not present my interests". There are 19% of such people among the youth under 24 years; 24% of people with higher education; 27% of specialists, and 30% of leaders.



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