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More than half of Russians believe Sobchak’s presidential run ‘just a publicity stunt’

According to the survey, 98% of Russians know Ksenia Sobchak and are aware of her presidential ambitions

Ksenia Sobchak Stanislav Krasilnikov/TASS

Ksenia Sobchak

© Stanislav Krasilnikov/TASS

MOSCOW, November 1. /TASS/. Nearly two-thirds of Russians (64%) hold a negative opinion of Ksenia Sobchak, who recently announced her plans to run for president in the 2018 election, a survey carried out by the All-Russia Public Opinion Research Center showed on Wednesday.

Ksenia Sobchak, Russian socialite and TV host, announced her plans to throw her hat into the ring for the Russian presidency on October 18. She is the daughter of the late Anatoly Sobchak, St. Petersburg’s first democratically elected mayor, who was once a political mentor to Putin. The presidential election in Russia will take place on March 18, 2018. Sobchak said earlier that her candidacy should be considered as an "against all", or an anti-establishment option.

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Almost 70% of those surveyed see no political prospects for her in the country, and just 6% believe she has good future prospects as a politician, the pollster reported. Some 8% of Russians would vote for Sobchak, and potential support for her is higher among Muscovites and St. Petersburg residents (16%).

"The attitude to Sobchak is predominantly negative. During the most recent opinion poll, 64% of the respondents, who are familiar with her, felt this way, while the number of positive responses came to 20%," the nation’s leading polling agency said.

According to the survey, almost every Russian citizen (or 98%) knows about Ksenia Sobchak, and most of them are aware of her presidential ambitions.

More than half of Russians (57%) believe Sobchak’s presidential bid is merely a publicity stunt. Only 15% of respondents see political motives behind her announcement to run for president, and just 4% said she really seeks to occupy the post.

"Although over the past years, Ksenia Sobchak has somehow retreated into the shadows, the information effect from her surprising candidacy submission for the Russian president was rather significant. This confirms her reputation as a skilled public speaker and offers chances to perform well on the political arena," All-Russia Public Opinion Research Center Director General Valery Fedorov said.

The nationwide poll was conducted on October 21-22 based on phone interviews with 1,200 Russian adults. The margin of error does not exceed 3.5% at the 95% confidence level.

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