(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Adults in Russia are divided in their assessment of Washington’s foreign policy, according to a poll by the Yury Levada Analytical Center. 43 per cent of respondents believe the United States government seeks the complete destruction of Russia, while 42 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 in Russia is scheduled for Mar. 2, 2008.

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.

Earlier this 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.

On Dec. 19, Putin was named Time magazine’s "Person of the Year." In an interview with the American publication, Putin asserted that the U.S. is trying to marginalize Russia in order to secure a stronger global power, saying, "This is a single-minded attempt to create a certain image of Russia which allows [Washington] to influence our internal and external policy. (...) Russia hasn’t only said but also repeatedly demonstrated by its entire policy in the last 15 years that we do not only want to be America’s partner, but a friend as well. But sometimes I have the impression that America does not need friends. We have the impression that America needs vassals to command."

Polling Data

Do you agree or disagree with this statement? - The purpose of America’s foreign policy is the complete destruction of Russia."

Source: Yury Levada Analytical Center
Methodology: Interviews to 1,600 Russian adults, conducted from Dec. 7 to dec. 10, 2007. No margin of error was provided.

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