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Russians view transfer of power from Yeltsin to Putin as positive - poll

© RIA Novosti . Vladimir Rodionov / Go to the mediabank Russians view transfer of power from Yeltsin to Putin as positive - poll
 Russians view transfer of power from Yeltsin to Putin as positive - poll  - Sputnik International
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The majority of Russians (66%) consider that Russia's first president, Boris Yeltsin, was "right in every respect" when he announced his early resignation and appointed Vladimir Putin his successor ten years ago, the Russian Public Opinion Research Center has said.

The majority of Russians (66%) consider that Russia's first president, Boris Yeltsin, was "right in every respect" when he announced his early resignation and appointed Vladimir Putin his successor ten years ago, the Russian Public Opinion Research Center has said.

The late Boris Yeltsin resigned on the evening of December 31, 1999, during his televised New Year's Eve address to the nation.

According to the survey published on Wednesday, three-fourths of the ruling United Russia Party and the Kremlin-backed A Just Russia Party supporters agreed with Yeltsin's decision.

Of those questioned, 16% said they believed that the decision by the first president to resign was the "right step," but that he should not have appointed a successor. Approximately 26% Communist Party supporters expressed this view.

About 7% of those questioned said Yeltsin should have found a different successor. Approximately 11% of those who voted for the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia held the same view.

Those who consider Yeltsin's decision completely wrong were the minority.

Some 40% of those questioned said they were "satisfied" with Yeltsin's announcement, which is 13% less than in 2000. The number of those indifferent has risen by 22%, from 10% in 2000 to 32% this year. Some 7% said they felt "astonished" or "excited" when they learned about the first president's step, while 4% were "puzzled," 2% felt "regret" or "indignation," and 1% was "concerned."

The opinion that Yeltsin resigned because he was unable to carry out his presidential duties due to illnesses was expressed by 38% of those questioned, with the majority of them being retirees (44%). The number of those who explain Yeltsin's decision to free up a place for the younger generation of politicians has risen by 6% over the past ten years, from 14% in 2000 to 20% this year. Almost a one-fifth (19%) now believe the ex-Russian leader left his position under the pressure of critics, while the figure stood at 14% in 2000.

Fewer people now consider that Yeltsin's goal was to provide Putin with a comfortable position to win the presidential race. The figure dropped from 29% in 2000 to 14% this year.

The majority of those questioned continue to believe that Yeltsin's epoch caused more bad than good to the country, however, the number of pessimists has fallen by 11% since 2000, to 56% this year. Approximately 79% of the Communist supporters, who do not agree with Yeltsin's democratic reforms, and 66% of low-educated Russians expressed the same opinion. A fifth of those questioned were optimistic about Yeltsin's ruling, some 4% more than in 2000. About 28% of supporters of A Just Russia party and some 25% of highly-educated respondents believe the same.

Some 1,600 people in 140 localities and 42 regions took part in the poll conducted on December 26-27, with a statistical margin of error of 3.4%.

MOSCOW, December 30 (RIA Novosti) 

 

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