(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Over two-thirds of adults in Russia believe maintaining order is very important, even if democratic principles and personal freedoms are trampled, according to a poll by Yury Levada Analytical Center. 69 per cent of respondents agree with this statement, while 18 per cent disagree.

Vladimir 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 is scheduled for March 2008.

On Dec. 2, Russian voters renewed the State Duma. 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.

On Dec. 10, Putin endorsed current deputy prime minister Dmitry Medvedev as a presidential candidate, saying, "I have known him very closely for more than 17 years and I completely and fully support this proposal. We have a chance to form a robust administration for the Russian Federation after the March elections—an administration that will carry out the same policies that have brought us results for the past eight years."

Yesterday, Medvedev endorsed Putin as a possible prime minister, saying, "I consider it of utmost importance for our country to keep Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin in the highest post of executive power—the post of head of government of the Russian Federation."

Medvedev also serves as head of state-run Russian energy company Gazprom. Valery Musin, Medvedev’s former academic advisor at Leningrad State University, said about his former pupil: "Medvedev’s personality was shaped under Putin’s strong influence, and he worships Putin like a father figure, or at least like an older brother."

Polling Data

Do you agree or disagree with this statement? - "Maintaining order is very important, even if democratic principles and personal freedoms are trampled."

Source: Yury Levada Analytical Center
Methodology: Interviews with 1,600 Russian adults, conducted from Nov. 20 to Nov. 23, 2007. No margin of error was provided.

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