Putin's press conference gave Russians hope - poll
MOSCOW. Dec 25 (Interfax) - Russians paid more attention to this year's conference given by Russian President Vladimir Putin on December 19 than they did last year. Ninety percent of the respondents (against 72% in 2013) surveyed by the Levada Center said they are to a certain degree aware of the issues addressed at that press conference, the Levada Center told Interfax.
The poll, which surveys 1,600 respondents, was conducted in 134 regions of Russia on December 19-22.
One out of every five respondents (21%) said they had watched or listened to the entire press conference, 40% said they had watched or listened to some of it, 29% said they had not watched it or listened to it, but had heard about it, the poll shows.
The president's answers given at this conference made Russians feel hope (34%), respect (30%), interest (27%) and confidence in tomorrow (12%). Five percent of the respondents said they were disappointed and 4% said they were bewildered, irritated, or depressed. Another 20% said they did not have any special feelings about the press conference.
Eighteen percent of the respondents said they had watched the president's December 4 address to the Federal Assembly on television or listened to it on the radio. Thirty-nine percent said they had become familiar with it from the mass media. Another 27% said they knew something about this address and 17% said they knew nothing about it. Last year, 37% of the respondents said they were to some extent aware of the presidential address, 29% said they had heard about it, and 34% said they did not know anything about it.
Speaking about the impression made on them by Putin, 49% of the respondents said "he knows what he is doing, he has ideas about the country's development and clear goals." In 2013, 36% of the respondents said so.
In the meantime, 22% of the respondents (against 40% last year) believe the president has proposed short-term populist measures, which will have virtually no effect on people's life, while 13% said the things the president said "are just words." Seventeen percent were undecided.
Among the most vital issues addressed by the president in his address to the Federal Assembly, the respondents mentioned the fight against corruption (36%), the joining of Crimea to Russia and the situation in southeastern Ukraine (32%), the sanctions imposed by the Western countries on Russia and the weakening of the ruble rate (31%).
Another 28% mentioned the increase of the quality of education and healthcare services, 26% mentioned the development of non-resource sectors of the economy, and 20% mentioned the emphasis on traditional and moral values of the Russian state.
