September 28, 2007

Abstract: (Angus Reid Global Monitor) - The next election to Russia’s State Duma will be won by the pro-government party, according to a poll by the All-Russian Public Opinion Research Center. 47 per cent of respondents would back United Russia (YR) in this year’s ballot, up two points since early September.

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - The next election to Russia’s State Duma will be won by the pro-government party, according to a poll by the All-Russian Public Opinion Research Center. 47 per cent of respondents would back United Russia (YR) in this year’s ballot, up two points since early September.

The Communist Party (KPRF) is a distant second with seven per cent, followed by the opposition movement A Just Russia with six per cent, and the Liberal Democratic Party (LDPR) with five per cent.

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 tentatively scheduled for March 2008.

The next election to the State Duma is scheduled for Dec. 2. For the first time, all 450 lawmakers will be chosen through party-list proportional representation, with a seven per cent threshold. In the 2003 election, only four political parties—United Russia, the KPRF, the LDPR and the Motherland - National Patriotic Union (MDRT)—received more than seven per cent of the vote.

On Sept. 12, Putin dismissed Russian prime minister Mikhail Fradkov—who had served since March 2004—and appointed Viktor Zubkov, a former financial police chief and close ally, to supplant him.

On Sept. 24, Putin named a new government. The minor changes included three new ministerial appointments. After announcing his decision, Putin declared: "It is my great hope that the Russian government under the leadership of a new prime minister will strive to solve what we consider to be the strategic tasks of the country’s development. (...) In this crucial time, it’s necessary not only to ensure stable work but also energetically promote the implementation of our strategic plans."

Polling Data

Which party would you vote for in the election to the State Duma?

	Sept. 23	Sept. 9	Aug. 12
United Russia (YR)	47%	45%	47%
Communist Party (KPRF)	7%	8%	7%
A Just Russia	6%	5%	5%
Liberal Democratic Party (LDPR)	5%	6%	6%

Source: All-Russian Public Opinion Research Center
Methodology: Interviews with 1,600 Russian adults, conducted on Sept. 22 and Sept. 23, 2007. Margin of error is 3.4 per cent.