Vladimir Putin has been in power in Russia as president or prime minister since 1999. (file photo)
By RFE/RL, May 04, 2017 A new opinion poll indicates that 48 percent of voters would cast their ballots for incumbent President Vladimir Putin if Russia's presidential election were held in the near future. The figure in the April 21-24 poll by the independent Levada-Center was down from 62 percent in a similar poll in April 2015 and 53 percent in January 2016. Putin, in power as president or prime minister since 1999, is widely expected to seek a new six-year presidential term in a March 2018 election. He has not announced his candidacy. Levada polled 1,600 adults nationwide, asking them whether they would vote -- and for whom -- if the election were held next Sunday. The pollsters did not name any candidates, leaving it up to the respondents to do so. Flamboyant ultranationalist Vladimir Zhirinovsky and Communist Party leader Gennady Zyuganov received 3 percent piece, while opposition politician Aleksei Navalny was one of four people who were each named by about 1 percent of respondents. […] https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-levada- ... -48-percent/28467840.html
| 