MOSCOW, March 3. /TASS/. Potential support for Russia’s current president, Vladimir Putin, in the 2018 presidential election has achieved a record-high over the past four years, as follows from an opinion poll conducted by the national public opinion studies center WCIOM.
"At the beginning of 2016 as many as 74% of Russians are prepared for casting their ballots for Vladimir Putin in the 2018 presidential election, which is a record-high for the past four years (showing a dramatic rise from 40% in October 2012). Even among those who say that the president has not yet acted on many of his election pledges 70% percent are prepared to vote for him. At the moment 15% percent have no intention to support his candidature, and 11% percent are undecided," VTsIOM said.
Russians say that ever more pledges Putin made during the 2012 election campaign are being translated into reality.
"Starting from 2013 the share of the polled who say the president has already implemented most of his pledges has doubled (from 16% to 37%). In March 2012 (a week after the elections) such an assessment was made by precisely the same number of respondents (37%).
The VTsIOM poll was held on January 23-24, 2016 in 130 communities and cities in Russia’s 46 regions. An audience of 1,600 men and women of age was questioned. The statistical error margin did not exceed 3.5%.