Russians have difficulty in naming the winners and the main events of 2008. As usual, bad news attracts more attention, and Russians are simply stunned by the main bad news, which is the economic crisis.
The Public Opinion Fund, as usual, asked respondents to name the man of the year and the event of the year. Predictably, Vladimir Putin was the most popular political and public leader (40%), trailed by Dmitry Medvedev (12%), with Patriarch Alexy II gaining (4%), probably because he died. 36% responded "don't know". Among scientific, cultural, and art personalities the highest scorer was Alexander Solzhenitsyn (5%), also posthumously, while 71% did not name anyone. Among the best athletes of the year, Andrei Arshavin scored with 8% while 63% of respondents did not name anyone.
Among the events of the year, the economic crisis is in first place (14%), followed by the Russian presidential election (8%), the US presidential election (7%), and events in South Ossetia (7%). 49% did not name an event. When asked specifically to name happy events, 66% failed to name any; when asked to specify unhappy events, 35% were at a loss. Among the "happy" events were the election of the Russian President (11%) and among "unhappy events", the events in South Ossetia (22%). If one adds other economic problems to the "economic crisis" item, that item wins with 23%.
Unlike most events that the media cover, the crisis is affecting the people - at work, in the shops, and in their daily lives. Against this backdrop, national pride in sporting triumphs pales somewhat. The presidential election is a routine event, as is Vladimir Putin's leadership among men of the year (it is another matter that Putin himself is doing everything to perpetuate the habit and his status).
The crisis is an ongoing event, and opinion polls show that Russians are adopting a fatalistic view of it. According to a VTsIOM poll, three quarters of Russians are worried by the crisis. They know nothing about the Government's plans to combat the crisis (59%), have no advice to offer on how to handle it (78%) and are doing nothing to secure their savings (39%). 56% are not and do not plan to put aside any money against the possibility of losing their job.
Vasily Kashin