Russians Don’t Look to Duma for the Solution of Their Problems, VTsIOM’s Fedorov Says

Paul Goble

            Staunton, August 19 – Russians don’t consider the Duma as the place where their problems will be addressed and solved; they look instead to the president and the government, VTsIOM director Valery Fedorov says. And that is one of the reasons why they are far less interested in the elections to it than many commentators assume they should be.

            A second reason, he argues, is the calendar. The elections will take place in mid-September and Russians may begin to pay more attention once they return from their holidays or time at the dacha; but at present, they are focused on other things, like the pandemic and inflation (realtribune.ru/grazhdane-ne-svyazyvajut-reshenie-socialnyh-problem-s-gosdumoj).

            Fedorov also suggests that no one should be surprised by the decline in the rating of the ruling United Russia Party or by its likely victory in the elections. That has happened before and likely will again for the same reasons: the campaigns give new attention to the other parties and they pick up support as a result in the polls.

            But when the elections come, far more Russians will be inclined to do what they have done before and vote for the party of power, certain in their own minds doing so will help those in the Kremlin who really make the decisions that matter do their jobs better and address the problems of the Russian people more effectively.