Voters do not see Medvedev as an independent politician

Among Russians who voted for Dmitry Medvedev in the March 2 presidential election, only 3 percent would like him to perform his presidential duties independently. According to the Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VCIOM), a quarter of Russians believe that outgoing President Vladimir Putin should retain control after he steps down as President. Experts attribute this to the key idea of Medvedev’s election campaign that continuity of power will be ensured by Medvedev’s tandem with Putin.

According to an opinion poll published by VCIOM on March 7, most Russians believe that the new President should have most of the power. At the same time, 88 percent think that Putin should continue to play an important role in Russia’s politics, and 25 percent of respondents said Putin should retain key functions after he steps down. Ten percent would be prepared to see Putin replaced by Medvedev in big politics. Tellingly, the percentage is still lower, at 3 percent, among those who had voted for Medvedev on Marсh 2.

People have got used to see Medvedev as Putin’s protege. Perhaps, this is a deliberate policy of Putin’s team, which is not interested in Medvedev’s independence. “To convince people that Medvedev is not experienced enough and needs more training and an ‘internship’, not only ‘the administrative resource’ is being used, but also the services of sociologists who find this trend and fix it in public opinion,” says Dmitry Oreshkin, head of the Mercator research group.

Moreover, the keystone of Medvedev’s election campaign was to ensure continuity of power by working in tandem with Putin. Having registered his candidacy for the presidential election, Medvedev offered Putin to become Prime Minister in the event of Medvedev’s victory, a proposal which Putin accepted.

In other words, people seem to have voted not for Medvedev but for the Putin-Medvedev tandem. Dmitry Badovsky, an expert at the Social Systems Institute, attributes people’s distrust to Medvedev to fears that the transfer of power could affect stability. “Only in September will we be able to learn what people really think of Medvedev. By that time, the results of their tandem work with Putin could be judged,” Badovsky noted.

Source: RIA RosBusinessConsulting