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Volga
- Interest in politics and government is low in the Volga region. Only 22% are interested and 76% are not interested. In all, 8% are satisfied and 87% are dissatisfied with the current national situation.
- Reasons for voter dissatisfaction are at similar levels to the national averages. Inflation is at 63%, crime (55%), standard of living (48%), unemployment (36%), chaos (33%), and Chechnya (30%).
- The most important issues are the economy (21%), quality of life (19%), peace (8%), prices (8%), and political leaders (7%).
- The Volga is one of the more pessimistic regions with regard to the political situation in the near term. Just 12% say the political situation will improve and 40% say it will get worse. On the economy, 13% say better and 42% worse.
- Support for state control of the economy is at 53% and 18% want to continue economic reforms.
- Unlike the nation as a whole, a plurality of Volga voters say that Russia is not a democracy (45%) and only 39% say that it is. Nearly as many (35%) say that Russia is primarily not a democracy,
- Voters in the region are significantly more likely to say that political power should be decentralized (45%) while 28% think it should be centralized.
- They are far more likely (42%) to say that Russia could serve as her own best model for development. Another 11% mention the U.S., 10% Germany, and 4% each for Switzerland and Japan.
- They are also less likely than most other regions to say that Russia would benefit most from a western orientation (22%); 6% say the East, 14% both, and 36% neither.
- Voters here are extremely reliant on media organizations or personalities (63%) for information when making voting decisions. 88% say National Channel 1 is useful and 83% call Channel 2 useful. Local television programs are perceived to be more useful here than elsewhere in the nation (71%). 59% say discussions with friends and family are useful. 65% say that newspapers are useful sources. Local radio may be useful (55%). 44% say that magazine articles are useful. The top two sources are National Channel 1 (45%) and Channel 2 (9%).
Institutions and Officials
- A 54% majority say that official corruption is very common and 27% fairly common. Only 5% say corruption is rare. Also, 62% say that elected officials in Moscow are only interested in helping themselves and 4% say they are interested in improving our lives. A 55% majority say their elected officials are not capable of making any improvement in their circumstances and 34% say they can make a difference.
- President Yeltsin's job approval in this region is below average at 16% while 74% disapprove. 26% approve of the State Duma's performance and 45% disapprove. 20% approve of the Federation Council and 33% disapprove.
Attitudes Toward the Electoral System
- Perceptions about fraud are lower here than average as 49% believe there was at least some fraud in 1993 (-7%) and 41% say there will be fraud in the 1995 elections (-7%).
- Those who believe fraud will occur give potential sources the following distribution:
15%
|
Central Election Commission
|
11 %
|
Executive Branch
|
8%
|
Other central authorities
|
8%
|
Local election offices
|
10%
|
Local executive authorities
|
8%
|
Political parties
|
9%
|
Local candidate organizations
|
17%
|
All of these
|
- Improper voting practices have the following scores. 4% witnessed financial incentives being offered to voters. 5% saw poll watchers and 3% saw local/election officials try to influence votes, and 1% say they felt their ballot wouldn't be kept secret. Group voting, was at 14%.
- Knowledge about the Central Election Commission is extremely low in this region as only 6% have read or heard a fair amount or more and 61% have heard nothing at all (+10%).
- Support for the computerization of elections is at 74% (59% quite a lot) and only 7% are opposed.
- Voters in this region oppose allowing candidates for the State Duma (51%), the Federation Council (53%) and the Presidency (56%) to receive private contributions. A 66% majority say that a ceiling should be established for such contributions. 55% support a minimum voting threshold for validating elections.
- 17% would like to increase the number of Duma representatives who are elected from party lists, 6% want more from single mandate constituencies, 29% would like the system to stay the same and 45% don't know.
- A 65% majority say the Federation Council should be directly elected, 7% call for indirect elections, and 4% think members should be appointed by the President. 22% don't know.
Voting Patterns
- Projected turnout for the Duma elections in the Volga region is average. Overall, 73% say they will vote and 20% will not. The percentage of those saying they are certain to vote is 42%. Only 27% of all young people are likely voters.
- Planned turnout for the presidential elections is average at 75%. 47% say they definitely will vote as compared with the national average of 46%.
- Vote efficacy in the region is, however, well below average as 44% (-9%) believe that by voting, people can actually change something in the life of our country and 43% say this is not possible.
- The following table rank orders the results of the Presidential ballot test in the region and shows a tie for first between Lebed and Yavlinsky. A high number of voters are undecided.
Yavlinsky
|
12%
|
Lebed
|
12%
|
Chernomyrdin
|
9%
|
Rutskoi
|
7%
|
Solzhenitsyn
|
6%
|
Zhirinovsky
|
6%
|
Yeltsin
|
4%
|
Gaidar
|
3%
|
Kozyrev
|
2%
|
Shakhrai
|
2%
|
Zyuganov
|
2%
|
Staravoitova
|
1%
|
Shumeiko
|
1%
|
Don't Know
|
31%
|
Political Parties
- 75% say that political parties are necessary to Russian democracy and 10% say they are not necessary. 52% strongly believe that parties are necessary.
A 42% plurality say that several parties is an ideal situation while 21% say that one party is the ideal.
33% there are clear differences between the parties and 33% say there are not. Just 2% say they are members of a party. 18% are more likely to vote for a candidate who is affiliated with a political party, 27% are more likely to vote for an unaffiliated candidate, and 36% say it makes no difference.
60% say that political parties speak to the issues that concern the Russian electorate.
- In the Duma ballot, support for the Communist Party is below average. The results are as follows:
Communist Party
|
9%
|
Women of Russia
|
8%
|
Yabloko
|
11%
|
Russia's Democratic Choice
|
8%
|
LDPR
|
4%
|
Democratic Party of Russia
|
1%
|
Agrarian Party
|
2%
|
Our Home Russia
|
2%
|
Party of Economic Freedom
|
1%
|
Party of Unity and Accord
|
1%
|
None
|
29%
|
Don't Know
|
20%
|
Voter Education
* Only 53% say they received enough information from election officials so that they understood the election process;;
* Only 3% have a great deal of information about the Democratic process, 15% have a fair amount, 43% have not very much, and 28% have none at all.
* 64% agree (41% strongly) that they don't have enough information with regard to their rights with regard to the authorities.
* 37% say they received enough information about the candidates or parties to make a good choice in the 1993 Parliamentary elections and 40% did not.
* 10% are very or somewhat familiar with their voting rights.
* 22% didn't have enough information on how to check the voter registry and 22% had too little information on means of alternative voting.
* Misunderstandings about voting rights include the following: 38% believe a family member can vote on your behalf by presenting your passport; 45% say that those who don't currently reside in Russia may not vote (+7%), and 56% think those serving time in prison may vote.
* 31 % say that those who don't speak Russian may not vote.
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