-- adam
On 5/22/05, Chris Doss <lookoverhere1 at yahoo.com> wrote:
> Russia: Polls Show Rise In Putin's Popularity, Support
> For 'Painful Reforms'
>
> Izvestia
> May 19, 2005
> Article by Dmitriy Orlov, general director of the
> Political and Economic Communications Agency:
> "Revisiting the Presidential Address"
>
> Freedom, justice, our own path in life - this trio of
> themes in the Russian president's address to the
> Federal Assembly is notable first and foremost for the
> fact that it encompasses virtually everything. In
> actual fact, here we have human rights,
> "liberalization of the entrepreneurial space", the
> burgeoning wages of public sector workers, "Russia's
> civilizing mission on the Eurasian continent", and
> even the forgotten fight against alcoholism - all "in
> one bottle". The simple answer to the question "Why?"
> is that "they (the authorities) have nothing to say".
> In actual fact things are considerably more complex
> than this. Speechwriters have compiled the president's
> various messages into one whole and that whole is
> addressed to Vladimir Putin's new majority.
>
> Just like a puzzle, a new majority is beginning to
> emerge from various segments of society and it is a
> majority focused on the incumbent president. This is
> clearly not a "majority of hope", as it was in
> 1999-2003 - because there are very painful reforms
> underway in the country. This is an entirely pragmatic
> national coalition, which, at the very least, has
> adapted itself to the changed political system and the
> economic situation.
>
> Not long ago some strands of public opinion were
> clearly unfavorable for Putin. According to data from
> the Levada Center, in August 2004 only 37% of citizens
> supported monetization ofbenefits to one degree or
> another while 53% of citizens were opposed to it. Only
> 38% of citizens supported changes in the procedure for
> the formation of executive power in the regions, while
> 48% were opposed to it (VTsIOM, September 2004). The
> president's rating in terms of trust was inevitable
> changing under its own momentum and against this
> background it was beginning to seem that the
> presidential majority - which is in fact a
> heterogeneous and unstable structure- was falling
> apart at an accelerated rate.
>
> This did not happen. Back in February the level of
> monetization of benefits had risen (to 42 percent)
> while the level of hostility toward the process had
> fallen sharply (to 47 percent). The negative
> differential in the assessments was just 5 percent
> compared to a threatening 16 percent in August. The
> government finally took responsibility for the
> failures of monetization (43 percent, all sources -
> Levada Center) while public opinion was clearly
> starting to favor gubernatorial reform: according to
> information from VTsIOM, in March the cessation of
> direct elections of the heads of the regions was
> supported by 54 percent of respondents, while just 39
> percent did not support it.
>
> During Vladimir Putin's time in office there have been
> significant changes in the extent to which Russians
> feel satisfied with their lives. Just five years ago
> only 56 percent of respondents were satisfied with
> their position in society, while today that figure is
> 66 percent; the corresponding figures for peoples'
> satisfaction with work are 37 percent and 42 percent;
> for satisfaction with the material situation of their
> family - 24 percent and 31 percent; for satisfaction
> with their family diet - 40 percent and 56 percent;
> for life as a whole - 59 percent and 63 percent
> (surveys carried out by the "old" VTsIOM in February
> 2000 and by the Levada Center in January 2005).
>
> The rapid "revival" of the president's rating in terms
> of the people's trust and the overtly positive dynamic
> of in the people's perception of the tough decisions
> that are linked with his name in one way or another
> testify to the fact that the presidential majority has
> undergone qualitative changes. In the same way as
> before it is heterogeneous and unstable but a nucleus
> has taken shape within than majority - a nucleus of
> those people who have adapted to reforms, including
> painful reforms, and who are prepared to support a
> responsible policy to continue them.
>
>
> Nu, zayats, pogodi!
>
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