Moscow, 27 September: People in Russia have not yet formed a definite attitude to new Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov; many of them find it hard to assess him and are cautious in their expectations, according to the findings of a study by the Public Opinion foundation (FOM), published in Moscow on Thursday (27 September).

At the same time, according to the poll, a significant proportion of respondents believe today that the government course should be changed under the new prime minister - partially (this answer was chosen by 34 per cent of those polled) or completely (19 per cent). Only 11 per cent believe no change of course is necessary.

The survey carried out by FOM on 22-23 September in 100 population centres in 44 regions, territories and republics of the country showed that nearly half the people of Russia (48 per cent of the 1,500 people questioned) have not yet formed a definite impression of Zubkov; another 19 per cent chose the answer "I don't know". Most of those who have already made up their minds said they had a good impression of the new premier (32 per cent), and only 1 per cent said they did not like Zubkov.

Bearing in mind how little people know about Zubkov so far (before his appointment he was known only to 10 per cent of the people of Russia), it is no surprise that 58 per cent of respondents were unable to predict whether he can do the job of the head of government better or worse than the previous prime minister, the pollsters say.

According to the results, the rest of those polled believe that he will do his job better (23 per cent) or just the same as the previous premier (18 per cent). Only 1 per cent of those polled gave a pessimistic forecast, the FOM study shows.

In the survey, respondents were asked to assess the three-and-half years' work of the government led by Mikhail Fradkov. In the event, 37 per cent of those polled assessed it as "satisfactory", and 36 per cent chose the "don't know" option. The "good" (13 per cent) and "poor" (10 per cent) marks were less frequent. Only 1 and 3 per cent respectively chose "excellent" or "very poor".

Furthermore, the overwhelming majority of the people of Russia could not remember any achievements of the former prime minister (80 per cent) nor any specific failures in Fradkov's actions in the post of the head of government (75 per cent).

Meanwhile, a survey by VTsIOM (All-Russian Centre for the Study of Public Opinion) shows that more than one-third of the 1,600 people questioned (34 per cent) believe that Zubkov has entered politics "in earnest and for a long haul". Another third of those polled regard Zubkov as an interim "technical" figure on the political scene.

The survey showed that those who believe the post of prime minister to be the limit for Zubkov slightly outnumber those who regard him as a realistic candidate for the post of president (32 per cent to 27 per cent). Another 41 per cent of those polled were unable to answer the question on Zubkov's prospects.

Besides, 40 per cent of those polled by VTsIOM believe that Zubkov has no political future independent of Putin, and that the current prime minister is only doing the president's bidding. The opposite opinion, that he is a politician in his own right with a big future after the end of Putin's term of office, is held by 27 per cent. One-third of the people of Russia said they did not know.

In the survey, which was carried out by VTsIOM in 153 population centres in 46 regions, territories and republics of Russia, 15 per cent described the new prime minister as a good man, 9 per cent as strict, serious and confident, and another 9 per cent as focused and a man of action. Six per cent described him in neutral and only 2 per cent in negative terms, but most (59 per cent) said they did not know.