Social ratings are steadily high for top leaders.
Russian leaders, President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, have steadily maintained high popularity ratings for several months in a row. The Public Opinion Foundation, which polled 2,000 Russians on November 14-15, says the majority of people still trust the decisions made by Medvedev and Putin.
Some 54% trust the President unconditionally (56% in September). The head of government is supported by 66% (68% in September). Another 13% of Russian citizens trust Medvedev with some reservation, while Putin has 20% on his side (1% more than in September, the President having the same rating). Only 13% do not trust the President. Putin has an even smaller number of opponents, some 10%.
The head of the Public Opinion Foundation Alexander Oslon says a 1%-2% fluctuation is within statistical error, which means people's attitude to the country's top officials has not changed much.
"At the same time we can expect that in some two weeks the population will react to the President's Address to the Federal Assembly of Russia. However, what seems important to politicians may seem distant for ordinary people and not affecting their personal interests," Oslon said to Gazeta. "We should wait until people read more about this and discuss it with their neighbours. Some ratings may vary afterwards. Or maybe not, though."
Liliya Biryukova