(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – Fewer adults in Russia believe capital punishment should be completely restored in the country, according to a poll by the Yury Levada Analytical Center. 37 per cent of respondents would like to see this happen, down 17 points since 2000.
(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – Fewer adults in Russia believe capital punishment should be completely restored in the country, according to a poll by the Yury Levada Analytical Center. 37 per cent of respondents would like to see this happen, down 17 points since 2000.
Both the Soviet Union and Russia contemplated the death penalty as punishment for several crimes. Executions were usually carried out by firing squad. Russian president Boris Yeltsin introduced a decree to enact a "gradual cessation" of the practice. In 1997, Yeltsin signed a moratorium on capital punishment, which remains in place today.
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 Dmitry Medvedev as a presidential candidate, and Medvedev said it would be of the "utmost importance" to have Putin as prime minister.
In March 2008, 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.
Last month, Russia’s Constitutional Court ruled that the moratorium on capital punishment must be extended until the Russian Federation acts to completely ban executions.
Presidential advisor Mikhail Krotov discussed the possible next steps, saying, "The State Duma hasn’t yet ratified the protocol banning capital punishment because many in Russia support the death penalty. The society needs more time to ban the death penalty. But the government structures support a ban on capital punishment."
Polling Data
Which of the following statements comes closest to how you feel about the death penalty?
|
2009 |
2000 |
|
|
The death penalty should be completely restored (as it was in the early 1990s) |
37% |
54% |
|
The death penalty should remain as it is now |
20% |
15% |
|
The death penalty should be completely abolished |
14% |
12% |
|
The death penalty should be applied to more crimes |
16% |
10% |
|
Hard to answer |
13% |
10% |
Source: Yury Levada Analytical Center
Methodology: Interviews to 1,600 Russian adults, conducted from Jun. 26 to Jun. 29, 2009. No margin of error was provided.
