(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – Most people in Russia are dissatisfied with their government’s handling of the national economy, according to a poll by the Yury Levada Analytical Center. 53 per cent of respondents think the administration of Dmitry Medvedev has managed unemployment, inflation and financial issues badly.
(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – Most people in Russia are dissatisfied with their government’s handling of the national economy, according to a poll by the Yury Levada Analytical Center. 53 per cent of respondents think the administration of Dmitry Medvedev has managed unemployment, inflation and financial issues badly.
Russian voters renewed the State Duma in December 2007. United Russia (YR)—whose candidate list was headed by then president Vladimir Putin—secured 64.1 per cent of the vote and 315 of the legislature’s 450 seats. On that same month, Putin endorsed Medvedev as a presidential candidate, and Medvedev said it would be of the "utmost importance" to have Putin as prime minister.
In March, Medvedev easily won Russia’s presidential election with 70.28 per cent of the vote. In May, Medvedev was sworn in as president. His nomination of Putin as prime minister was confirmed by the State Duma in a 392-56 vote.
Russia suffered a financial crisis in 1998 related to tax debt by major energy and manufacturing industries, and a global decline in the price of oil and other commodities. The Russian Federation devalued the rouble in August 1998 and declared a moratorium on debt payments. The crisis stemmed from the government’s inability to control the country’s budget deficit.
Since last year, defaults on so-called subprime mortgages—credit given to high-risk borrowers—in the United States have caused volatility in domestic and global financial markets and raised concerns that the U.S. economy could fall into a recession. A recession is defined as two consecutive quarters of negative growth. The crisis has affected the global financial and credit systems.
On Nov. 26, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) revealed that its forecast for Russia’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth in 2009 is now lower, standing at 2.3 per cent. The OECD report stated: "With a reversal in the substantial rise in oil and metal prices, the pattern of terms of trade gains fuelling rapid growth in domestic demand has come to an end."
Polling Data
Thinking about the economic policy of the Russian government, for example, the measures to deal with the financial crisis, inflation, and unemployment. How does the Russian government manage these tasks?
|
Nov. 2008 |
Oct. 2008 |
|
|
Well |
7% |
13% |
|
Average |
33% |
27% |
|
Badly |
53% |
52% |
|
Hard to answer |
6% |
9% |
Source: Yury Levada Analytical Center
Methodology: Interviews with 1,600 Russian adults, conducted from Nov. 14 to Nov. 17, 2008. No margin of error was provided.
