Moscow, 29 December: In recent months, businessman Mikhail Prokhorov, who is running for the Russian presidency, has become better known to Russians and increased his support base, but, at present, not many voters are ready to vote for him, sociologists have established.
So, whereas, in late August, almost two-thirds of Russians said they knew nothing about Prokhorov and therefore could not outline their attitude towards him, by the end of the year, this figure was 35 per cent, according to an opinion poll carried out by the Public Opinion Foundation (FOM) on 24-25 December among 1,500 people in 100 towns and cities across 43 of Russia's regions.
Over the same period, the proportion of the public who took a positive view of him rose (from 8 per cent to 15 per cent), as did the proportion of people who viewed him negatively (from 9 per cent to 18 per cent). Meanwhile, 28 per cent of those who replied now speak of their indifference to Prokhorov (18 per cent in August).
The poll showed that, among those who know the businessman, 57 per cent of those who replied are aware that Prokhorov has declared his candidacy for the post of Russian president, but only 13 per cent say it is possible they will vote for him in the election.
These people note his positive qualities (his businesslike manner, his intelligence, "a straightforward and honest person"), trust him and believe that he could change life for the better.
Among those who are ruling out the possibility that they might vote for Prokhorov in the presidential election (42 per cent), he is described as a little-known personality, an "oligarch", a "moneybags" and someone who is "far removed from the people", or they say they have already made their choice in favour of another candidate.
In the opinion of Russians, Prokhorov, in nominating himself for president, is first and foremost seeking power. "He's already got money, now he wants power", "he wants to preserve his millions" and "he wants to take possession of all of Russia's finances" are comments made by those people (19 per pent).
However, there are also those who believe in him and believe that he "will improve the situation in the country" and that he is "not indifferent to Russia's fate" (7 per cent).
(Passage omitted: details of Prokhorov filing his candidate registration documents)
(State news agency RIA Novosti quoted two well-known political analysts commenting on the start Prokhorov has made to his electoral campaign. Yevgeniy Minchenko, director of the International Institute for Political Expertise, said he felt Prokhorov's choice of NTV presenter Anton Krasovskiy as his campaign chief was a poor one, because, in his opinion, Krasovskiy does not have enough experience as a political strategist or enough of a public profile. Stanislav Belkovskiy, head of the National Strategy Institute, said he had no knowledge of Krasovskiy's managerial qualities, but said he thought Krasovskiy had been chosen because he could potentially mobilize support for Prokhorov through social networking websites. Speaking about Prokhorov's potential appeal to voters, Belkovskiy said he felt the tycoon could attract support from among those who have been taking part in anti-government protests since the parliamentary election, but only if he managed to craft "concise and pithy messages". Minchenko, meanwhile, said Prokhorov would have to learn how to communicate with those voters, rather than "insulting their intelligence".)
Moscow, 29 December: In recent months, businessman Mikhail Prokhorov, who is running for the Russian presidency, has become better known to Russians and increased his support base, but, at present, not many voters are ready to vote for him, sociologists have established.
So, whereas, in late August, almost two-thirds of Russians said they knew nothing about Prokhorov and therefore could not outline their attitude towards him, by the end of the year, this figure was 35 per cent, according to an opinion poll carried out by the Public Opinion Foundation (FOM) on 24-25 December among 1,500 people in 100 towns and cities across 43 of Russia's regions.
Over the same period, the proportion of the public who took a positive view of him rose (from 8 per cent to 15 per cent), as did the proportion of people who viewed him negatively (from 9 per cent to 18 per cent). Meanwhile, 28 per cent of those who replied now speak of their indifference to Prokhorov (18 per cent in August).
The poll showed that, among those who know the businessman, 57 per cent of those who replied are aware that Prokhorov has declared his candidacy for the post of Russian president, but only 13 per cent say it is possible they will vote for him in the election.
These people note his positive qualities (his businesslike manner, his intelligence, "a straightforward and honest person"), trust him and believe that he could change life for the better.
Among those who are ruling out the possibility that they might vote for Prokhorov in the presidential election (42 per cent), he is described as a little-known personality, an "oligarch", a "moneybags" and someone who is "far removed from the people", or they say they have already made their choice in favour of another candidate.
In the opinion of Russians, Prokhorov, in nominating himself for president, is first and foremost seeking power. "He's already got money, now he wants power", "he wants to preserve his millions" and "he wants to take possession of all of Russia's finances" are comments made by those people (19 per pent).
However, there are also those who believe in him and believe that he "will improve the situation in the country" and that he is "not indifferent to Russia's fate" (7 per cent).
(Passage omitted: details of Prokhorov filing his candidate registration documents)
(State news agency RIA Novosti quoted two well-known political analysts commenting on the start Prokhorov has made to his electoral campaign. Yevgeniy Minchenko, director of the International Institute for Political Expertise, said he felt Prokhorov's choice of NTV presenter Anton Krasovskiy as his campaign chief was a poor one, because, in his opinion, Krasovskiy does not have enough experience as a political strategist or enough of a public profile. Stanislav Belkovskiy, head of the National Strategy Institute, said he had no knowledge of Krasovskiy's managerial qualities, but said he thought Krasovskiy had been chosen because he could potentially mobilize support for Prokhorov through social networking websites. Speaking about Prokhorov's potential appeal to voters, Belkovskiy said he felt the tycoon could attract support from among those who have been taking part in anti-government protests since the parliamentary election, but only if he managed to craft "concise and pithy messages". Minchenko, meanwhile, said Prokhorov would have to learn how to communicate with those voters, rather than "insulting their intelligence".)