The survey conducted by the Public Opinion Foundation found that 21% of Russians aged under 26 want to work for Gazprom, while 11% said they would like to work in the presidential administration. The respondents said they were attracted by stability amid the ongoing financial crisis.
Another 9% and 8% of respondents, respectively, considered Russia's largest independent crude producer LUKoil and state-controlled oil giant Rosneft as the country's best employers, the opinion poll said.
Just 1% of respondents said they would work for western companies Procter&Gamble and Coca-Cola. The trend indicates that young Russians are more likely to follow the professional choice of their grandparents than that of their parents who prefer to work for private companies.
State-run gas giant Gazprom was also the most popular employer in 2007 in a similar survey conducted by the Russian Public Opinion Research Center with 44% of votes.