In a poll, almost half of Russians support Medvedev's resignation. Almost half of Russians support Medvedev's possible resignation
“The Kremlin is attentive to sociology, but it will take time to analyze the data, according to which just under half of Russians are in favor of the resignation of Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev,” commented Dmitry Peskov. Earlier, the results of a survey by the sociological service Levada Center became known, according to which 18% of respondents were “definitely in favor” of Medvedev’s resignation, and 27% of Russians were “rather in favor”. The survey was conducted from April 7 to April 10 using a standard methodology - personal interviews with 1.6 thousand people in 137 settlements in 48 regions of Russia.
Compared to the previous study, the Prime Minister's rating has decreased significantly. In May 2016, 14% of respondents “completely trusted” the Prime Minister; in April of this year, the number of such Russians dropped to 3%. The percentage of respondents who “do not trust at all” increased from 14 to 19%. Such results may be associated both with the unsatisfactory state of affairs in the economy and with the publication in the spring of 2017 of an investigation by the opposition Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK) against the Prime Minister and the subsequent protests. According to open statistics, the film about the investigation was watched by almost 20 million people.
Levada Center specialist Stepan Goncharov is inclined to associate the sharp drop in the Prime Minister’s rating not only with the FBK’s attack on Medvedev and the increase in internal economic problems, but also with the decreasing role of the “post-Crimean consensus” factor.
“Of course, Alexei Navalny’s publication played a key role, but since the middle of last year the government’s rating has gradually declined. This is due to the economic situation, the conflict in Ukraine, and Navalny’s investigation only worsened this trend,” the sociologist commented to Gazeta.Ru.
He also expressed the opinion that Dmitry Peskov’s words regarding the survey mean that the Kremlin will check the data and order a corresponding study from VTsIOM. “If we use the same wording as ours, the survey will show a similar result,” Goncharov believes.
The press secretary of Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, Natalya Timakova, stated that the survey was politically biased. According to her, “the Prime Minister does not attach much importance to the data of opinion polls, especially those conducted by the Levada Center for a very specific political order.”
On March 2, the Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK), headed by Alexei Navalny, published a written investigation and its video presentation “He’s not Dimon to you” about the property of Dmitry Medvedev. “Dmitry Medvedev owns huge tracts of land in the most elite areas, manages yachts, apartments in old mansions, agricultural complexes and wineries in Russia and abroad,” the foundation said in a statement. Alexei Navalny’s website notes that this is the largest investigation in the history of the Anti-Corruption Foundation.
According to the investigation, Dmitry Medvedev allegedly owns and manages several real estate properties through social non-profit funds. Among these objects, Navalny named a residence in Pleso, Ivanovo region, on Rublevskoye Highway in the Moscow region, a residence and an agricultural company in the village of Mansurovo Kursk region, as well as vineyards in Krasnodar region and Italian Tuscany. In addition, FBK classified Medvedev’s real estate as the Official Reception House on the Neva embankment in St. Petersburg and the Psekhako residence in the Krasnodar Territory.
The source of financing for the above funds, according to Navalny, are donations from “raw materials oligarchs” and huge bank loans.
“The Prime Minister and his trusted people created a criminal scheme based not on offshore companies, as is often the case, but on non-profit foundations,” the oppositionist’s investigation said. However, Navalny did not provide direct evidence of Medvedev’s connection with these funds. The main basis for the conclusions FBK investigations it became that the leadership of the funds includes a classmate and longtime friend of the prime minister, Ilya Eliseev.
In response to the publication of the investigation, the Prime Minister's press secretary Natalya Timakova said that the FBK is pursuing political goals. “Navalny’s material has a clearly pre-election character, as he himself says at the end of the video. It makes no sense to comment on the propaganda attacks of an opposition and convicted character who said that he is already waging some kind of election campaign and is fighting the authorities,” Timakova said.
The FBK investigation served as the reason for Navalny to hold anti-corruption rallies throughout Russia on March 26. They were coordinated in 24 cities of the country, but the Moscow authorities refused to coordinate the action in the city center and proposed holding it in Sokolniki or Lyublino. Nevertheless, the organizers held a procession in the city center on Tverskaya Street. According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, about 500 people were detained at an unauthorized rally in Moscow, among whom was Alexei Navalny himself.
Russian President Vladimir Putin commented on the rallies during his speech at the plenary session of the forum “The Arctic - Territory of Dialogue” on March 30. The head of state recalled that unauthorized protests marked the beginning of the “Arab Spring” and the coup d’etat in Ukraine. Putin noted that the fight against corruption must be waged, but using this topic to achieve any political goals is unacceptable.
“The only thing I think is wrong: if some political forces are trying to use this tool for their own selfish purposes, not to improve the situation in the country, but for self-promotion in the political arena in anticipation of some political events, including election campaigns within the country,” the president said then.
Medvedev himself commented on the FBK charges brought against him on April 4. Then he called the investigation itself a “compote.” “They pick up all sorts of crap there, collect all sorts of nonsense about me, people I know, people I’ve never even heard of. They collect some pieces of paper, photographs, clothes, and then create such a product and present it,” Medvedev answered a question about the investigation during a visit to the Tambov food plant.
During the speech of the head of government with the annual report to State Duma A deputy from the Communist Party of the Russian Federation faction asked Medvedev a question about how he could “defend himself from Navalny’s attacks.” In response to this, Medvedev asked the communists to refrain from discussing the actions of “political crooks,” and called Navalny’s film itself “an absolutely false product.”
Political scientist Abbas Gallyamov believes that resignation is inevitable, but avoids giving specific dates.
“Sooner or later, Medvedev’s resignation will happen. Protest sentiment among the population is not yet so great, but is gradually growing.
Putin himself does not like to make decisions under pressure, and if the government is dismissed, it must be done with maximum efficiency, with a clearly formulated course for both himself and voters,” the expert shared his thoughts with Gazeta.Ru.
Medvedev’s resignation in the near future, according to the political scientist, will give Navalny political points. The most likely time for a decision on Medvedev may be the end of the presidential election campaign. “The decision to dissolve the government may become the finishing touch presidential election campaign or even take place after its end in order to begin a new presidential term with the presentation of the new government. Now this would play into Navalny’s hands and would look like his victory. It is not Navalny who should dismiss the government, but Putin,” Gallyamov added.
Almost half of Russians supported Medvedev's resignation
According to a Levada Center poll, 18% of Russians are “definitely in favor” of the resignation of Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, 27% are “rather in favor.”
www.dp.ru
The results of the study are reported by Republic with reference to RBC.
Sociologists also recorded a decline in Russians’ trust in the prime minister: if in May 2016 Dmitry Medvedev“completely trusted” 14% of respondents, then in April 2017 this figure dropped to 3%, the number of “mostly trusting” decreased from 39% to 30%.
In turn, the number of Russians “mostly distrusting” Medvedev increased by 3% – from 30% in May 2016 to 33% in April 2017. The number of respondents “who do not trust at all” also increased, from 14% to 19%, respectively.
The government did not comment on the results of the polls, explaining its decision by “the lack of dynamics on the issue of the prime minister’s resignation.”
The attitude of Russians towards the Prime Minister worsened after the Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK) film about Medvedev’s “secret empire”. The investigation reported that the head of government allegedly bought yachts, mansions and vineyards in Russia and abroad with “bribes from oligarchs and loans from state banks” with the help of non-profit foundations. After the film, protests “He is not Dimon to us” were held in 97 cities.
According to the Levada Center, the March 26 rallies were supported by 38% of Russians, and the same number of respondents saw the FBK film. At the same time, in early April, the electoral rating of the FBK founder Alexei Navalny doubled to 10%.
Sources close to the Kremlin said that the Russian Presidential Administration decided to launch a campaign to discredit Navalny and fight him “much like Hitler.” The interlocutors noted that for this purpose the Kremlin created a special department, supervised by the deputy head of the president’s internal political department Alexander Kharichev. Later, students in Vladimir were shown a video in which the founder of FBK was compared with Adolf Hitler.
Citizens' trust and sympathy for the prime minister is declining. The fall in the rating of the head of the Cabinet of Ministers is associated, among other things, with the appearance of an investigative film by the Anti-Corruption Foundation of oppositionist Alexei Navalny, “He’s Not Dimon to You,” which told about the secret possessions of the prime minister
Global Look Press
Almost half of Russians (45%) to one degree or another support the resignation of Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev. At the same time, citizens' trust and sympathy for the prime minister is declining. The fall in the rating of the head of the Cabinet of Ministers is associated, in particular, with the appearance of an investigative film by the Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK) of oppositionist Alexei Navalny, “He’s Not Dimon to You,” which told about the secret possessions of the prime minister.
According to a survey by Levada Center, 18% of respondents are “definitely in favor” of Medvedev’s resignation, and 27% are “rather in favor.” At the same time, the share of those who are opposed to his departure from office to varying degrees is 33%, RBC reports, citing the results of a sociological study.
Over the past year, trust in the head of government has gradually declined. According to the survey, in May 2016, 14% of respondents “completely trusted” the prime minister, in December - 9%, in April 2017 - only 3%. The number of those who “mostly trusted” during the same period decreased from 39% to 30%. At the same time, the number of respondents who “mostly do not trust” Medvedev increased from 30% in May last year to 33% in April of this year. The number of citizens who “do not trust the prime minister at all” increased from 14% to 19%, respectively.
Moreover, the prime minister has become less sympathetic to Russians. The number of respondents expressing “sympathy” for Medvedev decreased from 12% in 2013 to 8% in April 2017. The number of respondents who “cannot say anything bad about him” has dropped from 29% to 21% over four years. The number of citizens expressing “antipathy” to Medvedev increased from 5% to 9%. The number of people feeling “disgusted” increased from 2% to 4%.
The Levada Center survey was conducted on April 7-10 at home using the personal interview method on a representative all-Russian sample of urban and rural populations among 1.6 thousand people aged 18 years and older in 137 settlements in 48 regions of the country.
Press Secretary of the Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Natalya Timakova, commenting on the results of a sociological survey on the attitude of Russians to the activities of the head of government, said that her boss “does not attach much importance to the data of sociological surveys, especially those conducted by the Levada Center for a very specific political order.”
Levada Center director Lev Gudkov, in turn, called Timakova’s statement a “stupid reaction.” According to the head of the center, the rating of the head of the Cabinet has been declining “for a very long time.” Gudkov said that Levada Center employees “conducted a survey on the attitude of Russian citizens towards the prime minister at their own expense and on their own initiative.”
“We have been constantly conducting this kind of research in relation to Medvedev since the beginning of his election campaign,” the head added research organization. Gudkov also called on Timakova to apologize for her harsh statement about the “political order” allegedly carried out by Levada Center.
The press secretary of Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, however, refused to respond to Gudkov's request. “I would not like to enter into an absentee polemic with the leadership of Levada,” the Dozhd TV channel quotes her as saying.
According to Levada Center sociologist Stepan Goncharov, Medvedev’s rating fell due to the FBK investigation, growing internal economic problems and the declining effect of the “post-Crimean consensus.” Respondents attribute "disastrous" results to the prime minister domestic policy, the expert believes.
At the same time, political scientist Konstantin Kalachev saw in the Levada Center study elements of a “formative survey”, since sociologists measure attitudes towards Medvedev’s personality, and not towards the work of the prime minister, and the questions are structured exactly as needed to obtain the worst result. “But in any case, the numbers are alarming. The key issue is resignation. It seems that the attacks on Medvedev have achieved their goal,” the expert concluded.
At the same time, political scientist Abbas Gallyamov believes that the progressive decline in Medvedev’s rating cannot be considered the result of just “one attack by Navalny.” “The fact that trust in Medvedev has been declining for quite a long time suggests that this is a systemic problem, and not the result of one attack by Navalny,” said an RBC source. According to Gallyamov, the fact that there are more supporters of Medvedev’s resignation than opponents, but respondents who openly feel for him negative emotions, quite a bit, says that “people just want renewal, they are waiting for something fresh and unknown.”
The Kremlin intends to study survey data about Medvedev
The Kremlin promised to study survey data on Russians’ attitude to Medvedev’s activities, TASS reports. “We will probably need time to analyze these (social survey) data,” said Russian Presidential Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov. According to him, the presidential administration “always pays close attention to sociology, but with certain tolerances.”
Peskov added that the economic situation in the country is quite complex and “the government bears the burden of making many decisions related to the operational management of the economy.” “Of course, a certain volatility in sociological data may occur,” the Kremlin spokesman noted.
According to a survey published last week by the Public Opinion Foundation, as of April 16, 65% of Russians were ready to vote for the current Russian President Vladimir Putin if the presidential elections were held this coming Sunday. 38% of respondents expressed unconditional trust in the head of the Russian Federation, 8% expressed unconditional distrust. 79% of respondents rate Putin's work as president well, 13% - poorly.
According to the results of a Levada Center survey published in early April, in March of this year Medvedev showed the lowest rating among the population since 2006. It turned out that only 42% of respondents approve of the Prime Minister’s activities, 57% do not approve. Thus, Medvedev’s rating dropped this year to a historical low, since the level of approval of his activities never fell below 50%.
Moreover, within a month after the release of the FBK investigation, Medvedev’s approval rating for his activities fell by 10%. Over the same period, the number of people wishing to vote for Navalny in the presidential elections doubled and reached 10%.
The Anti-Corruption Foundation's film "He's Not Dimon" was published on YouTube March 2 this year and has already received almost 20 million views. The investigation talks about luxury real estate, land plots, yachts, agricultural complexes and wineries, which, according to FBK, are secretly at the disposal of the prime minister.
As stated in the film, the wealth of the head of the Cabinet was purchased with “donations” from oligarchs and loans from state banks acquired through a network of non-profit foundations managed by Medvedev’s classmates. In total, at least 70 billion rubles were received through this scheme, FBK found out.
The anti-corruption foundation's film about Medvedev's "secret empire" became the reason for mass rallies against corruption, which took place in Moscow and dozens of other cities in the country on March 26 and resulted in the detention of many participants in these events. Not only administrative, but also criminal cases were opened against the protesters. The first complaint regarding arrests during rallies has already been received by the ECHR.
Medvedev himself first commented on the FBK film only a month after its release. He called the foundation's investigation "nonsense", "some kind of paperwork" and "compote", behind which lies an attempt to drag people out onto the streets, to achieve political and "selfish" goals.
Almost half of Russians - 45% of respondents - to one degree or another support the resignation of Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev. These conclusions follow from an April survey by the Levada Center.
18% of respondents are “definitely in favor” of Dmitry Medvedev’s resignation, 27% are “rather in favor”, follows from a survey conducted on April 7–10.
Since May last year, trust in the Russian Prime Minister has gradually declined. Thus, 14% “fully trusted” the Prime Minister of the Russian Federation in May 2016 and only 3% in April of this year. The number of respondents who “mostly trusted” during the same time decreased from 39 to 30%. The number of respondents who “mostly do not trust” Medvedev increased from 30% in May last year to 33% in April of this year.
At the same time, the number of respondents who “do not trust at all” the head of the Russian government has increased - from 14 to 19%, respectively.
For recent years respondents also more often express a negative attitude towards the prime minister. The number of respondents expressing “sympathy” for Medvedev has decreased (from 12% in 2013 to 8% in April 2017).
Medvedev's rating fell (FBK) Alexei Navalny, growing internal economic problems and reducing the effect of the “post-Crimean consensus,” Levada Center sociologist Stepan Goncharov told RBC. According to him, respondents also attribute “deplorable” domestic policy results to Medvedev.
The Kremlin will study the results of a Levada Center survey on Russians’ attitude to the idea of Medvedev’s resignation, presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov said. According to research figures published on April 26, 45% of respondents to some extent support the idea of changing the government. Experts believe that according to political reasons this is not yet possible.
“The Kremlin is attentive to sociology, but it will take time to analyze the data, according to which just under half of Russians are in favor of the resignation of Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev,” commented Dmitry Peskov.
Earlier, the results of a survey by the sociological service Levada Center became known, according to which 18% of respondents were “definitely in favor” of Medvedev’s resignation, and 27% of Russians were “rather in favor”. The survey was conducted from April 7 to April 10 using standard methods - personal interviews with 1.6 thousand people in 137 settlements in 48 regions of Russia.
Compared to the previous study, the Prime Minister's rating has decreased significantly. In May 2016, 14% of respondents “completely trusted” the Prime Minister; in April of this year, the number of such Russians dropped to 3%. The percentage of respondents who “do not trust at all” increased from 14 to 19%.
Such results may be associated both with the unsatisfactory state of affairs in the economy and with the publication in the spring of 2017 of an investigation by the opposition Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK) against the Prime Minister and the subsequent protests. According to open statistics, the film about the investigation was watched by almost 20 million people.
Levada Center specialist Stepan Goncharov is inclined to associate the sharp drop in the Prime Minister’s rating not only with the FBK’s attack on Medvedev and the increase in internal economic problems, but also with the decreasing role of the “post-Crimean consensus” factor.
“Of course, Alexei Navalny’s publication played a key role, but since the middle of last year the government’s rating has gradually declined. This is due to the economic situation, the conflict in Ukraine, and Navalny’s investigation only worsened this trend,” the sociologist commented.
He also expressed the opinion that Dmitry Peskov’s words regarding the survey mean that the Kremlin will check the data and order a corresponding study from VTsIOM.
“If we use the same wording as ours, the survey will show a similar result,” Goncharov believes.
The press secretary of Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, Natalya Timakova, stated that the survey was politically biased. According to her, “the Prime Minister does not attach much importance to the data of opinion polls, especially those conducted by the Levada Center for a very specific political order.”
On March 2, the Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK), headed by Alexei Navalny, published a written investigation and its video presentation “He’s not Dimon to you” about the property of Dmitry Medvedev.
“Dmitry Medvedev owns huge tracts of land in the most elite areas, manages yachts, apartments in old mansions, agricultural complexes and wineries in Russia and abroad,” the foundation said in a statement.
Alexei Navalny’s website notes that this is the largest investigation in the history of the Anti-Corruption Foundation.
According to the investigation, Dmitry Medvedev allegedly owns and manages several real estate properties through social non-profit funds. Among these objects, Navalny named a residence in Pleso, Ivanovo region, on Rublevskoye Highway in the Moscow region, a residence and agricultural firm in the village of Mansurovo, Kursk region, as well as vineyards in the Krasnodar Territory and Italian Tuscany. In addition, FBK classified Medvedev’s real estate as the Official Reception House on the Neva embankment in St. Petersburg and the Psekhako residence in the Krasnodar Territory.
The source of financing for the above funds, according to Navalny, are donations from “raw materials oligarchs” and huge bank loans.
“The Prime Minister and his trusted people created a criminal scheme based not on offshore companies, as is often the case, but on non-profit foundations,” the oppositionist’s investigation said.
However, Navalny did not provide direct evidence of Medvedev’s connection with these funds. The main basis for the conclusions of the FBK investigation was that the leadership of the funds includes a classmate and longtime friend of the Prime Minister, Ilya Eliseev.
In response to the publication of the investigation, the Prime Minister's press secretary Natalya Timakova said that the FBK pursues political goals.
“Navalny’s material has a clearly pre-election character, as he himself says at the end of the video. It makes no sense to comment on the propaganda attacks of an oppositional and convicted character who said that he is already waging some kind of election campaign and is fighting the authorities,” Timakova said.
The FBK investigation served as the reason for Navalny to hold anti-corruption rallies throughout Russia on March 26. They were coordinated in 24 cities of the country, but the Moscow authorities refused to coordinate the action in the city center and proposed holding it in Sokolniki or Lyublino. Nevertheless, the organizers held a procession in the city center on Tverskaya Street. According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, about 500 people were detained at an unauthorized rally in Moscow, among whom was Alexei Navalny himself.
Russian President Vladimir Putin commented on the rallies during his speech at the plenary session of the forum “The Arctic - Territory of Dialogue” on March 30. The head of state recalled that unauthorized protests marked the beginning of the “Arab Spring” and the coup d’etat in Ukraine. Putin noted that the fight against corruption must be waged, but using this topic to achieve any political goals is unacceptable.
“The only thing I think is wrong: if some political forces are trying to use this tool for their own selfish purposes, not to improve the situation in the country, but for self-promotion in the political arena on the eve of some political events, including election campaigns within the country ", the president said then.
Medvedev himself commented on the FBK charges brought against him on April 4. Then he called the investigation itself a “compote.”
“They pick up all sorts of crap there, collect all sorts of nonsense about me, people I know, people I’ve never even heard of. They collect some pieces of paper, photographs, clothes, and then create such a product and present it,” Medvedev answered a question about the investigation during a visit to the Tambov food plant.
During the head of government’s speech with his annual report to the State Duma, a deputy from the Communist Party of the Russian Federation faction asked Medvedev a question about how he could “defend himself from Navalny’s attacks.” In response to this, Medvedev asked the communists to refrain from discussing the actions of “political crooks,” and called Navalny’s film itself “an absolutely false product.”
Political scientist Abbas Gallyamov believes that resignation is inevitable, but avoids giving specific dates.
“Sooner or later, Medvedev’s resignation will happen. Protest sentiment among the population is not yet so great, but is gradually growing.Putin himself does not like to make decisions under pressure, and if the government is dismissed, it must be done with maximum efficiency, with a clearly formulated course for both himself and the voters,” the expert shared his thoughts.
Medvedev’s resignation in the near future, according to the political scientist, will give Navalny political points. The most likely time for a decision on Medvedev may be the end of the presidential election campaign.
“The decision to dissolve the government could be the final touch of the presidential election campaign or even take place after its end in order to begin a new presidential term with the presentation of the new government. Now this would play into Navalny’s hands and would look like his victory. It is not Navalny who should dismiss the government, but Putin,” Gallyamov added.
*****
Dmitry Medvedev
26.04.2017, 13:07
The survey was conducted on April 7–10, 2017 on a representative all-Russian sample of the urban and rural population among 1,600 people aged 18 years and older in 137 settlements in 48 regions of the country. The study is conducted at the respondent's home using personal interviews. The distribution of answers is given as a percentage of total number respondents.
The statistical error with a sample of 1600 people (with a probability of 0.95) does not exceed:
3.4% for rates close to 50%
2.9% for rates close to 25% / 75%
2.0% for rates close to 10% / 90%
1.5% for rates close to 5% / 95%
WHAT WORDS COULD YOU INDICATE YOUR ATTITUDE TO DMITRY MEDVEDEV? (one answer)
TO WHAT DO YOU TRUST DMITRY MEDVEDEV?
WOULD YOU NOW BE FOR OR AGAINST SENDING THE CHAIRMAN OF THE RUSSIAN GOVERNMENT DMITRY MEDVEDEV TO RESIGN?
