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Political divisions and voting

Table 1. Evaluations of past political system

Q. Here is a scale for evaluating the political system. The top, plus 100, is the best, and the bottom, minus 100, is the worst. Where on this scale would you put: the political system we had before perestroyka?

  Voted for: Putin Zyuganov Yavlinsky Non-voter All replies
Percent %
  Negative 23 9 47 26 22
  Neutral 10 4 8 8 8
  Positive 67 87 44 66 70
  Mean: 24.7 56.5 -5.8 26.5 31.1
  Standard deviation: 53.7 42.9 62.1 56.9 55.0
Source: New Russia Barometer IX, fieldwork 14-18 April 2000, N=1600.

Table 2. Evaluations of current political system

Q. Here is a scale for evaluating the political system. The top, plus 100, is the best, and the bottom, minus 100, is the worst. Where on this scale would you put: our current political system?

  Voted for: Putin Zyuganov Yavlinsky Non-voter All replies
Percent %
  Negative 43 67 45 41 48
  Neutral 10 11 10 20 14
  Positive 47 22 45 38 38
  Mean: -4.8 -29.5 -1.9 -11.2 -12.3
  Standard deviation: 49.7 51.1 49.6 50.5 51.2
Source: New Russia Barometer IX, fieldwork 14-18 April 2000, N=1600.

Table 3. Evaluations of future political system

Q. Here is a scale for evaluating the political system. The top, plus 100, is the best, and the bottom, minus 100, is the worst. Where on this scale would you put: the political system we will have in five years?

  Voted for: Putin Zyuganov Yavlinsky Non-voter All replies
Percent %
  Negative 12 22 19 14 15
  Neutral 10 16 9 15 13
  Positive 78 63 72 71 72
  Mean: 34.6 13.8 25.3 26.3 27.0
  Standard deviation: 38.5 50.4 48.2 44.1 44.2
Source: New Russia Barometer IX, fieldwork 14-18 April 2000, N=1600.

Table 4. Extent of democracy now

Q. Here is a scale ranging from a low of 1 to a high 10. On this scale, 1 means complete dictatorship and 10 means complete democracy.

  Voted for: Putin Zyuganov Yavlinsky Non-voter All replies
Percent %
  1 Complete dictatorship 2 3 5 4 3
  2 1 2 6 6 3
  3 10 13 13 6 9
  4 14 10 16 17 14
  5 32 35 28 34 33
  6 15 11 22 13 14
  7 11 13 5 7 10
  8 9 8 5 7 8
  9 2 2 2 3 2
  10 Complete democracy 4 3   2 3
  Mean: 5.5 5.3 4.7 5.1 5.3
  Standard deviation 1.9 1.9 1.7 1.9 1.9
Source: New Russia Barometer IX, fieldwork 14-18 April 2000, N=1600.

Table 5. Performance of Putin

Q. What assessment would you give Vladimir Putin, if '1' is lowest and '10' is highest mark?

  Voted for: Putin Zyuganov Yavlinsky Non-voter All replies
Percent %
  1 Lowest 0 3 2 3 2
  2 2 5 2 4 3
  3 3 19 14 9 9
  4 6 20 17 13 12
  5 17 23 29 28 23
  6 14 8 12 11 12
  7 16 7 12 11 12
  8 18 7 10 9 12
  9 9 5 2 3 6
  10 Highest 14 4 0 8 9
  Mean: 6.9 5.0 5.1 5.5 5.9
  Standard deviation: 2.1 2.2 1.8 2.2 2.3
Source: New Russia Barometer IX, fieldwork 14-18 April 2000, N=1600.

Table 6. Performance of Yeltsin

Q. What assessment would you give Boris Yeltsin, if '1' is lowest and '10' is highest mark?

  Voted for: Putin Zyuganov Yavlinsky Non-voter All replies
Percent %
  1 Lowest 41 65 27 46 47
  2 22 17 31 22 21
  3 15 13 20 17 15
  4 8 3 8 6 6
  5 9 1 8 7 6
  6 3   3 1 2
  7 1 1 3 0 1
  8 1 0 0 1 1
  9 1 1 0 0 0
  10 Highest 0 0 0 0 0
  Mean: 2.4 1.7 2.5 2.1 2.2
  Standard deviation: 1.7 1.3 1.5 1.4 1.5
Source: New Russia Barometer IX, fieldwork 14-18 April 2000, N=1600.

Table 7. Duma can veto the President

Q. Do you think the Duma should have the right to stop the President taking decisions that it considers wrong?

  Voted for: Putin Zyuganov Yavlinsky Non-voter All replies
Percent %
  Completely disagree 12 6 7 10 10
  Somewhat disagree 32 26 33 26 29
  Somewhat agree 42 48 48 44 44
  Completely agree 14 20 12 20 17
Source: New Russia Barometer IX, fieldwork 14-18 April 2000, N=1600.

Table 8. Broad political outlook

Q. What broad political outlook are you most inclined to favour?

  Voted for: Putin Zyuganov Yavlinsky Non-voter All replies
Percent %
  Pro-market 38 8 46 22 26
  Communist 9 53 2 8 18
  Great power patriot 10 7 7 6 8
  Environmentalist, Green 2 4 7 4 3
  Other 4 4 5 5 5
  None 37 25 34 55 40
Source: New Russia Barometer IX, fieldwork 14-18 April 2000, N=1600.

Table 9. Priority problems

Q. Government has to deal with many problems--but it cannot solve all of them at once. Which two problems do you think should have the highest priority?

  Voted for: Putin Zyuganov Yavlinsky Non-voter All replies
Percent %
  Rising prices 41 45 22 38 40
  War in Chechnya 39 38 39 37 38
  Corruption in govt 35 41 59 36 38
  Unemployment 34 33 32 37 35
  Crises in health and education 17 18 23 16 17
  Threat of terrorism in Russian cities 18 12 10 19 17
  Crime in streets 8 4 10 5 6
  Environmental pollution 3 3 6 6 4
Source: New Russia Barometer IX, fieldwork 14-18 April 2000, N=1600.

Table 10. Role of state TV in vote

Q. How useful were the following in helping you decide what to do in the Presidential election? : State TV

  Voted for: Putin Zyuganov Yavlinsky All replies  
Percent %
  Unimportant 9 29 24 17  
  Not very important 19 33 25 24  
  Somewhat important 45 28 33 39  
  Very important 26 9 17 20  
Source: New Russia Barometer IX, fieldwork 14-18 April 2000, N=1600.

Table 11. ROLE OF OWN EXPERIENCE/OBSERVATIONS IN VOTE

Q. How useful were the following in helping you decide what to do in the Presidential election? : My own experience/ observations

  Voted for: Putin Zyuganov Yavlinsky All replies  
Percent %
  Unimportant 3 2 3 3  
  Not very important 7 3   5  
  Somewhat important 41 30 31 37  
  Very important 49 65 66 56  
Source: New Russia Barometer IX, fieldwork 14-18 April 2000, N=1600.

Table 12. Extent of party identification

Q. Do you identify with any political party?

  Voted for: Putin Zyuganov Yavlinsky Non-voter All replies
Percent %
  No 61 18 27 72 54
  Identifies with a party 39 82 73 28 46
Source: New Russia Barometer IX, fieldwork 14-18 April 2000, N=1600.

Table 13. Vote in 1996 presidential election

Q. In 1996, did you vote in the second round of the presidential election? If yes, who did you vote for?

  Voted for: Putin Zyuganov Yavlinsky Non-voter All replies
Percent %
  Voted Zyuganov 15 73 2 11 26
  Voted neither 25 17 35 58 35
  Voted Yeltsin in 96 Presidential election 60 10 63 32 39
Source: New Russia Barometer IX, fieldwork 14-18 April 2000, N=1600.

Table 14. Vote in 1999 Duma election

Q. Did you take part in the elections to Duma last December? If yes, in the proportional representation list ballot, for which party or electoral bloc did you vote?

  Voted for: Putin Zyuganov Yavlinsky Non-voter All replies
Percent %
  KPRF/Communists 5 77 0 11 27
  LDPR/Zhirinovsky party 5 2 0 9 4
  Unity 38 4 0 31 25
  Fatherland-All Russia 16 8 17 14 14
  U Right Forces 9 2 23 14 9
  Yabloko 3 1 58 7 6
  Our Home is Russia 2 0 0 0 1
  Women of Russia 10 1 0 3 6
  Other 7 3 0 8 6
  Against all 4 2 2 3 3
Source: New Russia Barometer IX, fieldwork 14-18 April 2000, N=1600.

Table 15A. Threat from non-Russians in Russia

Q. Do you think that there is a substantial threat to security of Russia from people of other nationalities living in Russia

  Voted for: Putin Zyuganov Yavlinsky Non-voter All replies
Percent %
  Big threat 19 23 13 15 18
  Some threat 38 39 30 37 38
  Little threat 19 18 33 23 21
  No threat at all 24 20 24 25 23
Source: New Russia Barometer IX, fieldwork 14-18 April 2000, N=1600.

Table 15B. Threat from USA

Q. Do you think that there is a substantial threat to security of Russia from the USA?

  Voted for: Putin Zyuganov Yavlinsky Non-voter All replies
Percent %
  No threat 32 21 31 32 30
  Little threat 26 20 26 28 26
  Some threat 29 37 34 27 30
  Big threat 12 22 10 12 14
Source: New Russia Barometer IX, fieldwork 14-18 April 2000, N=1600.

Table 15C. Threat from Germany

Q. Do you think that there is a substantial threat to security of Russia from Germany?

  Voted for: Putin Zyuganov Yavlinsky Non-voter All replies
Percent %
  No threat 59 49 62 58 57
  Little threat 26 27 25 24 25
  Some threat 14 20 11 15 16
  Big threat 2 3 2 3 2
Source: New Russia Barometer IX, fieldwork 14-18 April 2000, N=1600.

Table 16A. Preferred action if Russians threatened in CIS: negotiate

Q. If Russians in the near abroad were under threat from the government there, the Russian government could respond in different ways. Which of the following actions would you support? : Negotiation

  Voted for: Putin Zyuganov Yavlinsky Non-voter All replies
Percent %
  Strongly disapprove 1 1   0 1
  Somewhat disapprove 3 3   5 4
  Somewhat approve 30 29 25 34 31
  Strongly approve 66 66 75 61 65
Source: New Russia Barometer IX, fieldwork 14-18 April 2000, N=1600.

Table 16B. Preferred action if Russians threatened in CIS: economic pressure

Q. If Russians in the near abroad were under threat from the government there, the Russian government could respond in different ways. Which of the following actions would you support: Economic pressure?

  Voted for: Putin Zyuganov Yavlinsky Non-voter All replies
Percent %
  Strongly disapprove 6 4 9 9 7
  Somewhat disapprove 25 19 13 26 24
  Somewhat approve 40 44 44 42 42
  Strongly approve 29 32 34 23 28
Source: New Russia Barometer IX, fieldwork 14-18 April 2000, N=1600.

Table 16C. Preferred action if Russians threatened in CIS: military intervention

Q. If Russians in the near abroad were under threat from the government there, the Russian government could respond in different ways. Which of the following actions would you support: Military intervention?

  Voted for: Putin Zyuganov Yavlinsky Non-voter All replies
Percent %
  Strongly disapprove 40 36 56 40 40
  Somewhat disapprove 41 42 35 37 40
  Somewhat approve 13 17 8 18 15
  Strongly approve 5 5 0 6 5
Source: New Russia Barometer IX, fieldwork 14-18 April 2000, N=1600.

Table 17. Support for Russian actions in Chechnya

Q. What is your attitude to the actions of the Russian government in Chechnya?

  Voted for: Putin Zyuganov Yavlinsky Non-voter All replies
Percent %
  Strongly disapprove 3 6 8 5 4
  Somewhat disapprove 10 12 23 16 13
  Somewhat approve 45 46 53 45 46
  Strongly approve 42 36 16 34 37
Source: New Russia Barometer IX, fieldwork 14-18 April 2000, N=1600.

Table 18A. Blame for Chechnya: Chechens

Q. How much would you say each of the following is to be blamed for the conflict in Chechnya? Chechens

  Voted for: Putin Zyuganov Yavlinsky Non-voter All replies
Percent %
  A lot 47 50 45 51 49
  Somewhat 41 39 38 35 39
  Not much 7 8 11 9 8
  Not at all 4 3 6 4 4
Source: New Russia Barometer IX, fieldwork 14-18 April 2000, N=1600.

Table 18B. Blame for Chechnya: extremists from Middle East

Q. How much would you say each of the following is to be blamed for the conflict in Chechnya?: Extremists from Middle East

  Voted for: Putin Zyuganov Yavlinsky Non-voter All replies
Percent %
  A lot 36 41 21 37 37
  Somewhat 50 45 63 48 49
  Not much 10 9 14 12 11
  Not at all 4 5 2 3 4
Source: New Russia Barometer IX, fieldwork 14-18 April 2000, N=1600.

Table 18C. Blame for Chechnya: USA

Q. How much would you say each of the following is to be blamed for the conflict in Chechnya? USA

  Voted for: Putin Zyuganov Yavlinsky Non-voter All replies
Percent %
  A lot 12 16 7 13 13
  Somewhat 35 40 30 39 37
  Not much 36 33 31 35 35
  Not at all 17 11 33 14 15
Source: New Russia Barometer IX, fieldwork 14-18 April 2000, N=1600.

Table 18D. Blame for Chechnya: Russian FSB provocateurs

Q. How much would you say each of the following is to be blamed for the conflict in Chechnya? Russian FSB provocateurs

  Voted for: Putin Zyuganov Yavlinsky Non-voter All replies
Percent %
  A lot 9 7 8 10 9
  Somewhat 36 40 48 39 38
  Not much 35 33 25 34 34
  Not at all 20 19 18 18 19
Source: New Russia Barometer IX, fieldwork 14-18 April 2000, N=1600.

Table 19. Expected end of Chechen conflict

Q. What do you think will be the eventual outcome of the conflict in Chechnya?

  Voted for: Putin Zyuganov Yavlinsky Non-voter All replies
Percent %
  Fighters overcome/ Chechnya returns to Russia 47 29 31 39 40
  Chechnya north of Terek returns to Russia 7 5 8 8 7
  Enormous losses for both sides/ end as in 1996 16 22 13 16 17
  Protracted / will spread to other North Caucasus 30 44 48 37 36
Source: New Russia Barometer IX, fieldwork 14-18 April 2000, N=1600.
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