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Support for Capital Punishment High in Russia
(Angus Reid Global Scan) - Many Russian adults support the death penalty, according to a poll by the Yury Levada Analytical Center. 65 per cent of respondents support capital punishment.
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.
In March 2002, Russian president Vladimir Putin said calls for the restoration of the death penalty were "foolish" and "meant to boost some people's political ratings." Any changes on the legislation could lead to Russia's expulsion from the Council of Europe.
Recent terrorist attacks in Russia—including the October 2002 four-day standoff at a Moscow theatre and the September 2004 three-day siege in a Beslan school—have prompted some public officers to request the restoration of capital punishment, including deputy prosecutor general Vladimir Kolesnikov
Polling Data
Do you support or oppose capital punishment?
Jun. 2005 | May 2002 | |
Support | 65% | 79% |
Oppose | 25% | 17% |
Hard to answer | 10% | 4% |
Source: Yury Levada Analytical Center
Methodology: Interviews to 1,600 Russian adults, conducted from Jun. 16 to Jun. 21, 2005. No margin of error was provided.
