Thursday, January 19, 2017

Russians Divided Down the Middle about their Country’s Current Situation and Future Prospects



Paul Goble

            Staunton, January 19 – Despite the Kremlin’s claims of near monolithic unity among Russians on the basis of Vladimir Putin’s stratospheric approval ratings, the residents of the Russian Federation are split almost exactly down the middle on whether their country is in a good place now or not and as to how its situation will be two decades from now.

            According to the results of a new poll by the Public Opinion Foundation, “approximately 45 percent of Russians are dissatisfied with the situation” in Russia as a whole, while 47 percent say they are satisfied “on the whole,” noteworthy figures given the Kremlin media’s constantly upbeat tone (fom.ru/Budushchee/13169 and nakanune.ru/news/2017/1/19/22458551/).

            Russians are also split down the middle, the survey found, concerning the situation in their place of residence, with 49 percent saying they are satisfied and 44 percent saying they aren’t and about the future with 59 percent saying they expect the situation to improve over the next 20 years, while the rest expect no change or even a deterioration.

            Similar divides were found among Russians concerning their evaluation of healthcare, economics, education and medical services both now and in the future.  Perhaps especially important given the aging of the population, only 31 percent said the elderly would have a better life in 20 years, while according to 40 percent, it would remain much as it is now.


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