Most of respondents perceive deputies negatively. They are regarded to be well-educated professionals, but dishonest, self-interested and far removed from people.
MOSCOW, April 24, 2013. Russian Public Opinion Research Centre (VCIOM) presents the data concerning the associations that come to mind of Russians when they hear the expression “State Duma deputy”; what they think Russian deputies are, and how they understand their work.
Russians have negative associations when they hear “State Duma deputy”: bribe-taker (20%), greed for gain (9%), generally negative emotions (11%). Neutral associations are as follows: representative of power (11%), adoption of new laws (5%), public servant (4%), people`s choice (4%), deputy immunity and privileges (2%) et cet. Positive associations are defender of people`s interests (5%), smart, well-educated person evoking liking (2%).
Russians ambiguously view typical State Duma deputy: on the one hand, deputy is seen as well-educated (57%), good public speaker (56%), professional (42%), charming person (38%); on the other hand, deputy is someone pursuing his/her own interests (60%), far removed from people (57%), dishonest (53%), unprincipled (45%), and irresponsible (42%). The most disputable question is how charismatic deputy is: 31% believe deputies are ordinary men, whereas 35% regard them as charismatic persons.
A relative majority of Russians think that deputies` work is all about adoption of new laws (37%). Eighteen percent believe that they must take care of people; 5% say deputies are engaged in state affairs; 4% - deputies discuss important issues. At the same time, 12% believe deputies do nothing; 6% - they solve personal questions, 4% - they strive to get rich.
The initiative Russian opinion polls were conducted on March 9-10, 2013. 1600 respondents were interviewed at 130 sampling points in 42 regions of Russia. The margin of error does not exceed 3.4%.
What comes to your mind when you hear the expression “State Duma deputy”? | |
Bribe-taker, thief, embezzler , cheat | 20 |
Negative emotions, distrust | 11 |
Representative of power | 11 |
Greed for gain, personal gain | 9 |
Idler, sponger | 7 |
Defender of people’s interests | 5 |
Adoption of laws, State Duma sessions | 5 |
Babbler, cheat | 4 |
Rich, oligarch | 4 |
Public servant | 4 |
People`s choice | 4 |
Well-educated, smart person evoking liking, trust | 2 |
Deputy immunity and privileges | 2 |
Bureaucrat | 1 |
Man in jacket, with “light bars” | 1 |
Moscow, Kremlin | 1 |
Other | 2 |
Hard to tell | 20 |
Could you describe a typical Russian State Duma deputy using 7-point scale? (close-ended question, one answer per each position, shown are informative answers) | ||
A) | He prizes his own interests first | 60 |
Interests of the country and its people are of top priority to him | 18 | |
B) | Far removed from people, indifferent to people | 57 |
Close to people; he understands the needs of people | 19 | |
C) | Dishonest, bribe-taker; he breaks the laws | 53 |
Honest; he is keeping the laws | 19 | |
D) | Unprincipled | 45 |
Principled | 24 | |
E) | Irresponsible | 42 |
Responsible | 29 | |
F) | Like any other person, ordinary | 31 |
Charismatic, able to lead people | 35 | |
G) | Unprofessional; he has no skills to do what he must do | 28 |
Professional; he knows what to do | 42 | |
H) | Disgusting, repellent | 27 |
Charming, nice | 38 | |
I) | Poor-educated, stupid | 19 |
Well-educated, smart | 57 | |
J) | Poor speaking, poor public speaker | 18 |
Good public speaker | 56 | |
What is the work of State Duma deputy? (open-ended question, any number of answers) | |
Adoption of laws | 37 |
Taking care of people, defending people`s interests | 18 |
Wearing out the seats of their trousers; sleeping, doing nothing | 12 |
Solving his/her own problems | 6 |
Public affairs | 5 |
Robbing the people; lining their pockets | 4 |
Conducting meetings; discussing important questions | 4 |
Fighting , abusing each other | 1 |
Hard to tell | 20 |
Note: Using materials from the site www.wciom.ru or wciom.com, as well as distributed by VCIOM, the reference to the source (or hyperlink for the electronic media) is obligatory!