[lbo-talk] Yukos report...

Chris Doss itschris13 at hotmail.com
Fri Sep 5 05:06:43 PDT 2003


Most Russians believe country is seeing redistribution of property - poll

MOSCOW. Sept 5 (Interfax) - Some 53% of Russians believe the country is seeing a redistribution of major property at the moment, and 11% take the opposite view, a poll has revealed.

The Public Opinion Foundation, which interviewed 1,500 respondents in late August, reported that 49% of respondents believe the redistribution of property will harm Russia, and only 12% think it will have a positive effect.

The margin or error in the poll is within 3.6%.

The poll also showed that 41% of Russians are sure the redistribution of property will damage President Putin's authority, and 11% believe otherwise. Sociologists noted that this correlation of opinions is characteristic of both pro-Putin and pro-Zyuganov electorates.

Respondents who believe the redistribution of property will benefit Putin's authority argue that "gas, oil, gold and diamonds" will again belong to the state, and so the country will be richer again: "everything that is to the state's benefit is to the benefit of the president's authority."

The respondents who believe the redistribution of property will damage Putin's authority reason that the people will not gain anything from it. In addition, the redistribution will surely be accompanied by scandals "and bloody infighting," while Putin "is responsible for the country, and so any conflicts can only harm him," the respondents said.

These people also think a redistribution of property will destabilize the economy and cause the stocks of major companies to plunge. "Any redistribution leads to an economic slump, which will eventually have a negative effect on all the people," they said.

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