Chris Doss The Russia Journal ----------------------------
Moskovsky Komsomolets March 26, 2002 SYMBOL IN A JACKET RESULTS OF OPINION POLLS INDICATE... Author: Natalia Galimova, Lyuba Shary Source: Moskovsky Komsomolets, March 26, 2002, p. 3 [from WPS Monitoring Agency, www.wps.ru/e_index.html] Russians continue to see Putin as a symbol of stability but they do not expect any political or economic breakthrough from his administration
AS ALWAYS, SOCIOLOGISTS MARKED THE ANNIVERSARY OF VLADIMIR PUTIN'S PRESIDENCY WITH INNUMERABLE OPINION POLLS. THE LATTER INDICATE AN INTERESTING TENDENCY. PUTIN'S "PERSONAL" RATING REMAINS HIGH, BUT THE NUMBER OF OPTIMISTS OF HIS POLICIES DWINDLED OVER THE MONTHS WHEN RESPONDENTS WERE ASKED TO ELABORATE (LIKE "DO YOU BELIEVE THAT THE PRESIDENT CAN GET THE COUNTRY OUT OF THE CRISIS?" OR "DO YOU THINK ORDER IN CHECHNYA WILL BE RESTORED?").
Aleksei Levinson, chief of the Quality Survey Department of the All-Russian Public Opinion Research Center: The worse the state of affairs in the country is, or the worse the state of affairs is in some isolated sphere, the more society is eager to express its sympathies with the president, the symbol of unity and fame of the state. It is particularly typical of elderly Russians who still remember slogans like "We will close the ranks around the party and its leader in response to imperialist plots" etc. Society is looking for a medicine from traumas and many associate this medicine with Putin. But a treatment like that is symbolic at best. When actions are mentioned, the picture is wholly different.
This is how many respondents reply. "It does not matter that Putin is young and strong that it will be nice for the state to be young and strong again. We are sick of lagging behind". Yes, some hopes associated with the president are dying out, but the masses do not see him as executor of some plans. These masses see the president as the symbolic center of society, the pinnacle. It is also important that Putin does not have anyone looking like a rival on the political arena. Opinion polls show again and again that the people do not see any alternative to Putin and actually do not want to see any alternative.
Alexander Oslon, President of the Public Opinion Foundation: Warm feelings exist toward Putin not because of who he is. They exist because there is a need of such a leader in society. This need, the need for stability, was developed throughout the last decade. Under Boris Yeltsin, the masses were secretly confident that everything could crash at any time. Not so under Putin. Or so the people now believe, and would believe.
Actually, there is only one threat to Putin, and it exists in the distant future. The typical warm feelings towards the president may gradually transform into a habit. Meaning that the people will start taking it for granted. There will be no contrast: nobody will recall what happened the day before yesterday, and nothing extraordinary would be seen in what happened yesterday or today. For the time being, however, there are no indications of that. A Russian will long resist disappointment... Some results of opinion polls conducted by the All-Russian Public Opinion Research Center
Question: Do you think Vladimir Putin will be able to restore order in the country?
Answer May 2000 April 2001 January 2002
I think so 82% 73% 72%
I do not think so 16% 26% 24%
I do not know 2% 1% 4%
Question: Do you think Vladimir Putin will be able to get Russia out of the economic crisis?
Answer May 2000 April 2001 January 2002
I think so 73% 66% 64%
I do not think so 24% 30% 31%
I do not know 3% 4% 5% (Translated by A. Ignatkin)