This survey took place between 25 and 28 March, 12-15 February, and 27-30 May 2016 and was conducted throughout all of Russia in both urban and rural settings. The survey was carried out among 1600 people over the age of 18 in 137 localities of 48 of the country’s regions. The survey was conducted as a personal interview in respondents’ homes. The answer distribution is presented as percentages of the number of participants.
The statistical error of these studies for a selection of 1600 people (with a probability of 0.95) does not exceed:
3.4% for indicators around 50%
2.9% for indicators around 25%
2.0% for indicators around 10%
1.5% for indicators around 5%
IN YOUR OPINION, WERE THE STATE DUMA ELECTIONS CONDUCTED HONESTLY IN…
| 2003 | 2007 | 2011 | ||||||
| Oct.07 | Nov.07 | Jan.08 | Feb.08 | Dec.11 | Jan.12 | Feb.12 | Mar.16 | |
| Honestly | 15 | 17 | 26 | 20 | 5 | 8 | 7 | 10 |
| More honestly than dishonestly | 24 | 32 | 39 | 38 | 35 | 35 | 24 | 34 |
| More dishonestly than honestly | 20 | 17 | 16 | 18 | 32 | 23 | 27 | 20 |
| Dishonestly | 14 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 10 | 14 | 20 | 11 |
| It is difficult to say | 27 | 27 | 13 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 22 | 25 |
IN YOUR OPINION, WILL THE STATE DUMA ELECTIONS BE CONDUCTED HONESTLY IN…
| 2007 | 2016 | ||
| Oct.07 | Nov.07 | Mar.16 | |
| Honestly | 14 | 17 | 11 |
| More honestly than dishonestly | 30 | 35 | 36 |
| More dishonestly than honestly | 19 | 18 | 16 |
| Dishonestly | 13 | 7 | 10 |
| It is difficult to say | 25 | 23 | 27 |
DO YOU THINK THAT THE COMING STATE DUMA ELECTIONS WILL BE A REAL FIGHT FOR POWER AND SEATS AMONG PARTIES, OR ONLY AN IMITATION, WITH SEATS REALLY BEING DISTRIBUTED BY AUTHORITIES?
| 2007 | 2011 | 2016 | |||||||
| Nov.06 | Oct.07 | Nov.07 | Jan.11 | Apr.11 | Jul.11 | Oct.11 | Nov.11 | Mar.16 | |
| There will be a real fight for power and seats in the Duma | 30 | 32 | 34 | 32 | 31 | 35 | 35 | 34 | 42 |
| It will only be an imitation, with seats really being distributed by authorities | 53 | 52 | 48 | 53 | 54 | 53 | 48 | 51 | 42 |
| It is difficult to say | 17 | 15 | 18 | 15 | 16 | 13 | 17 | 16 | 16 |
IN YOUR OPINION, STATE DUMA ELECTIONS AT THE END OF THIS YEAR WILL BE:
| 2003 | 2007 | 2011 | 2016 | ||||||||
| Oct.03 | Nov.03 | Dec.03 | Nov.07 | Jan.11 | Apr.11 | Jul.11 | Oct.11 | Nov.11 | Feb.16 | May.16 | |
| Honest and legal overall | 21 | 23 | 28 | 45 | 30 | 32 | 29 | 39 | 37 | 38 | 44 |
| Probably dirty (using slander, pressure on voters, manipulation of ballots, etc.) | 57 | 54 | 49 | 33 | 48 | 50 | 54 | 37 | 42 | 37 | 38 |
| It is difficult to say | 23 | 23 | 23 | 22 | 23 | 18 | 18 | 24 | 21 | 26 | 19 |
IN YOUR OPINION, WILL WE SEE THE FOLLOWING ABUSES IN THIS YEAR’S COMING STATE DUMA ELECTIONS? (multiple answers)
| 2007 | 2011 | 2016 | ||||
| Apr.07 | Oct.07 | Jan.11 | Aug.11 | Nov.11 | Feb.16 | |
| Handing out of advantages of one form or another to United Russia and other “ruling parties” during election campaigns | 26 | 21 | 22 | 25 | 21 | 22 |
| Vote rigging by local/regional election commission | 39 | 28 | 23 | 23 | 31 | 22 |
| Voter bribing by authorities | 33 | 24 | 16 | 18 | 19 | 13 |
| Vote rigging by the Central Election Commission | 23 | 18 | 14 | 18 | 31 | 11 |
| Candidates undesirable to authorities being left out of pre-election party lists | 26 | 19 | 14 | 16 | 11 | 16 |
| Parties undesirable to authorities being banned from elections | 26 | 18 | 14 | 15 | 8 | 15 |
| Voter bribing by the opposition | 30 | 20 | 16 | 15 | 13 | 14 |
| Other abuses | <1 | <1 | 1 | 1 | <1 | <1 |
| There won’t be any abuses | 8 | 14 | 14 | 9 | 18 | 20 |
| It is difficult to say | 18 | 21 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 26 |
IN YOUR OPINION, HOW SERIOUS AN INFLUENCE WILL POTENTIAL ABUSES HAVE ON THE ELECTIONS? (as a percentage of those respondents who believe that such abuses are possible during the upcoming elections)
| 2007 | 2011 | 2016 | |||
| Apr.07 | Jan.11 | Aug.11 | Nov.11 | Feb.16 | |
| Very serious | 22 | 17 | 14 | 18 | 10 |
| Somewhat serious | 44 | 49 | 44 | 39 | 34 |
| Not very serious | 23 | 24 | 33 | 30 | 33 |
| They will have almost no influence | 7 | 5 | 7 | 5 | 13 |
| It is difficult to say | 4 | 5 | 3 | 9 | 11 |
IN YOUR OPINION, CAN PUBLIC OVERSIGHT OF ELECTIONS AND THEIR PREPARATION BY POLITICAL PARTIES, JOURNALISTS, AND FOREIGN OBSERVERS SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCE POSSIBLE VIOLATIONS DURING THE ELECTORAL PROCESS AND VOTING PROCEDURES?
| Apr.07 | Sept.11 | Mar.16 | |
| Yes | 43 | 58 | 56 |
| No | 45 | 27 | 31 |
| It is difficult to say | 12 | 15 | 13 |
Translated by Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey (formerly Monterey Institute of International Studies).