Angus Reid Global Monitor : Polls & Research

A Third of Russians Back Medveded in 2008

January 30, 2007

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Deputy prime minister Dmitry Medvedev is the early frontrunner in Russia's presidential race, according to a poll by the Yury Levada Analytical Center. 33 per cent of respondents would vote for Medvedev in the 2008 election, up nine points since October.

Defence minister Sergei Ivanov is second with 21 per cent, followed by Liberal Democratic Party (LDPR) leader Vladimir Zhirinovsky with 14 per cent, and Communist Party (KPRF) leader Gennady Zyuganov also with 14 per cent.

Support is lower for Sergei Glazyev of For a Dignified Life, Yabloko party leader Grigory Yavlinsky, independent State Duma member Vladimir Ryzhkov, former prime minister Mikhail Kasyanov, Union of Right Forces (SPS) leader Nikita Belykh, and former Motherland - National Patriotic Union (MDRT) leader Dmitri Rogozin.

Vladimir Putin was elected to a second term as president in March 2004 with 71.31 per cent of all cast ballots. In June 2006, Central Election Commission (CEC) chairman Alexander Veshnyakov confirmed that there are "no legal bans" for a Putin candidacy in 2012.

Medvedev and Ivanov have been identified as the Kremlin's main contenders in the election. In a prospective run-off scenario, Medvedev holds an eight-point advantage over Ivanov.

Earlier this month, Medvedev praised the state of Russia's economy during the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, declaring, "Some say Russia is starting to resemble the Soviet Union. Maybe so. Maybe in part this is the case, but only in one area: This year we will reach the maximum level of GDP reached in the Soviet era."

On Jan. 25, Ivanov criticized the United States government's plans to build a missile defence site in Central Europe, saying, "(North Korea and Iran) don't and won't have intercontinental ballistic missiles. (.) And the question arises: against whom is it directed?"

The next presidential election is tentatively scheduled for March 2008.

Polling Data

If the following candidates participated in the 2008 presidential election, who would you vote for?
(Likely voters)

Jan. 2007

Oct. 2006

Dmitry Medvedev

33%

24%

Sergei Ivanov

21%

17%

Vladimir Zhirinovsky

14%

21%

Gennady Zyuganov

14%

20%

Sergei Glazyev

5%

4%

Grigory Yavlinsky

5%

3%

Vladimir Ryzhkov

5%

3%

Mikhail Kasyanov

2%

4%

Nikita Belykh

1%

1%

Dmitri Rogozin

1%

3%

If Medveded and Ivanov reached a run-off, who would you vote for?

Dmitry Medvedev

54%

Sergei Ivanov

46%

Source: Yury Levada Analytical Center
Methodology: Interviews to 1,600 Russian adults, conducted from Jan. 19 to Jan. 23, 2007. No margin of error was provided.

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