The All-Russian Center for the Study of Public Opinion continues to delight with polls showing the direction of changes in the people's assessment of the political situation in the country. 1600 people were asked questions: "What politicians have you entrusted (or did not entrust) to the solution of important state issues?" and "Do you generally approve or disapprove of the activities of such and such a public institution?" In general, the results of the official poll by VTsIOM showed an increased level of public confidence in the Russian army and the President of the Russian Federation.
How does the population of the Russian Federation assess the activities of the most famous servants of the people?
Top 5 politicians in popularity (data from VTsIOM 2016)
5. Zhirinovsky
The rating of popular politicians is opened by the shocking and scandalous Vladimir Volfovich Zhirinovsky. Its activities are highly rated by 9.1% of the population (although this figure dropped by 0.4% compared to November). But 21% of the population would not have entrusted Zhirinovsky with solving important state issues - the highest figure among politicians. Even Zhirinovsky's party, the Liberal Democratic Party, judging by party ratings before the 2016 elections turned out to be higher than its chapter in popularity (14% according to August data).
4. Medvedev
Evaluation of Medvedev's activities is distributed evenly - 11.4% of the population rather approve of him, 11.3% rather disapprove. Both in the results of the trust poll and in the distrust rating, Dmitry Anatolyevich occupies the middle, fourth place among politicians. The results of the poll may add a good mood to the Prime Minister, and he already has everything else to hold on.
3. Shoigu
The level of confidence in the Minister of Defense is growing since November 2016. If at the end of autumn its activities were approved by 12.1%, then in December it was already 14.3%. At the same time, only 0.2% of the respondents would not have entrusted Shoigu to solve state issues.
2. Lavrov
The sharp-tongued foreign minister, whose statement has already become a meme on the Internet, enjoys unremitting popularity among those surveyed. If in November he was highly rated by 11.7% of respondents, in December his popularity increased by 3.1%. Like Shoigu, Lavrov does not cause negative emotions among Russian citizens - only 0.1% of respondents do not approve of his activities.
1. Putin
The President of Russia, who entered list of the most influential people in the world 2016 as a persona, it inspires less trust among the people than the sacred figure of the president in power. In general, 59.2% of the population approve of his actions, and this confidence has only increased compared to November 2016. At that time, the number of people supporting Putin's actions was 3% less. It is worth noting that this is the highest number that a politician managed to get in the ranking. A very small percentage of those participating in the survey do not approve of Putin's actions - 1.8%.
Rating of the most popular public institutions in 2016, according to VTsIOM
5. Law enforcement
In general, the population assesses the work of law enforcement agencies rather positively - 55.6% are in favor.However, almost a third (31.4%) of the respondents are not enthusiastic about the work of law enforcement agencies - in terms of disapproval, this public institution ranks third.
4. Media
Residents of the Russian Federation prefer to believe the news from TV, radio or newspapers - 65.4% highly appreciate the information received from these sources. However, exactly a quarter of the respondents (25%) are suspicious of the media. And the news from the Internet should not be completely trusted either. According to statistics compiled by a program developed by Craig Silverman, an employee of the digital journalism center at Columbia University, rumors and so-called fake materials (or simply lies) are spreading more actively on social networks than materials with subsequent refutation.
3. ROC
Despite the recent scandals with the Peresvet Bank, the catching of Pokémon in the temple and the construction of churches in the parks, the ROC continues to enjoy a high level of public confidence. The actions of this public institution are approved by 71.9% of the population. And 15%, respectively, disapprove - one of the lowest indicators in the list of the most popular public institutions.
2. President of Russia
In general, the President of Russia, both as a state institution and as a person, enjoys the confidence of the population. As of December 2016, 86% of citizens spoke positively about its activities. And only 10.1% did not approve, which is the lowest rate of all.
1. Russian army
“Russia has two friends - the army and the navy,” Alexander III used to say. It seems that most of the inhabitants of the Russian Federation share the point of view of the emperor. Russian army enjoys the highest level of trust among all public institutions. Its activities are approved by 87% of the population. And this is not surprising, after the "polite little green men" and successful operations in Syria.