(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Many adults in Finland are disappointed with the prospect of Russian president Vladimir Putin remaining in charge of his country’s government, according to a poll by TNS Gallup published in Helsingin Sanomat. 49 per cent of respondents would not want to see Putin staying on as the de facto leader of Russia after the end of his presidency.

Putin was elected to a second term as president in March 2004 with 71.31 per cent of all cast ballots. In April 2005, Putin ruled out seeking a new mandate, saying, "I will not change the constitution and in line with the constitution, you cannot run for president three times in a row." The next presidential election in Russia is scheduled for Mar. 2.

Russian voters renewed the State Duma on Dec. 2. United Russia (YR)—whose candidate list was headed by Putin—secured 64.1 per cent of the vote and 315 of the legislature’s 450 seats. Under the country’s recently implemented proportional representation system, only three other political organizations—the Communist Party (KPRF), the Liberal Democratic Party (LDPR) and A Just Russia—elected lawmakers to the lower house.

Following the State Duma election, Finnish prime minister Matti Vanhanen steered clear from criticizing the democratic process, claiming the accusations of fraud were "somewhat vague."

Last month, Putin endorsed current deputy prime minister Dmitry Medvedev as a presidential candidate, and Medvedev said it would be of the "utmost importance" to have Putin as head of government.

During World War II, Finland fought the Soviet Union twice, first with the support of Sweden and later with the help of Germany. Following the global conflict, Finland was forced to relinquish 10 per cent of its territory to the Soviet Union, and assumed a policy of neutrality.

Polling Data

Do you want to see Vladimir Putin staying on as the de facto leader of Russia after the end of his presidency?

Source: TNS Gallup / Helsingin Sanomat
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,290 Finns, conducted from Nov. 30 to Dec. 5, 2007, Margin of error is 3 per cent.

Archive Search

Over 19,700 Polls
Search the Angus Reid Global Monitor Polls & Research archive.