Russians will stomp on it and squoosh it!

Recent headline from Nezavisimaya Gazeta, a Russian newspaper: 40% Surveyed Are Nihilists, Remainder Trust Federal Authorities More Than Local. According to the story:

[A]pproximately 40% of the country’s citizens did not trust anyone 10 years ago and still do not now…. this huge percentage of “nihilists” is connected with the fact that all the authorities’ “words and deeds diverge.”… the unchanging 40% of Russians who don’t trust anyone essentially constitute a judgment against Vladimir Putin’s entire government.

I mean, say what you like about the tenets of Sovereign Democracy, Dude, at least it’s an ethos.

Full story, courtesy of Johnson’s List, after the jump.

40% Surveyed Are Nihilists, Remainder Trust Federal Authorities More Than Local

Nezavisimaya Gazeta
May 22, 2009
Report by Ivan Rodin: “40% Are Nihilists”

According to VTsIOM (All-Russia Center for the Study of Public Opinion on Social and Economic Questions) data, in the last 10 years the number of citizens who do not trust the state has not diminished.

According to data from a VTsIOM survey published yesterday, in the last 10 years what has undergone a cardinal change is Russians’ opinion about who is more honest, local or federal authorities. In 1999, the former evoked the greater trust; but in 2009 people trust the latter more. However, approximately 40% of the country’s citizens did not trust anyone 10 years ago and still do not now.

On 18-19 April, the All-Russia Center for the Study of Public Opinion surveyed 1,600 people in 140 points of settlement in 42 subjects of the Russian Federation. People were asked whether local or federal authorities had a more honest assessment of the situation in Russia and which of them was applying the more effective anticrisis measures. VTsIOM gives its answers in comparison with 1999 surveys. It turns out that if 10 years ago 33% believed in the honesty of the local authorities as opposed to 14% the federal, then now it’s the exact opposite: 34% favor the federal government and only 12% the local. It was the same story with the assessment of effectiveness. In 1999, 26% against 16% were in favor of local leaders; while in 2009 it was 39% against 7% for the rulers from distant Moscow. However, the most important figure was a very different one. As in 1999, today, when asked which is more honest and effective, approximately 40% of Russians answer — neither.

The Duma opposition greeted these data from the sociological survey simply with applause. For example, TsKKPRF (Central Committee of the Russian Communist Party) Secretary Sergey Obukhov is sure that the unchanging 40% of Russians who don’t trust anyone essentially constitute a judgment against Vladimir Putin’s entire government. Gennadiy Gudkov, deputy chairman of the Just Russia faction, believes that the Kremlin should give serious thought to these data, and most of all to why they haven’t changed in 10 years. Gudkov warns that when these nonbelievers become the majority, the regime will lose all support. Sergey Ivanov, a member of the LDPR (Russian Liberal Democratic Party) faction, thinks that this huge percentage of “nihilists” is connected with the fact that all the authorities’ “words and deeds diverge.” Those questioned see the reason for the radical change in attitude toward the federal and local authorities variously. For example, Ivanov believes that the local authorities, “so they don’t get it in the neck, have started lying more to their superiors, and people see that, of course, so they’ve stopped trusting them.” Gudkov has a somewhat different approach. He stated that he doesn’t want to idealize local leadership, but the change in attitude toward them, in his view, is connected primarily with the poverty of municipal budgets. “This is starting to be felt especially hard now, during this crisis,” the deputy noted, seeing in this the reason for people’s mistrust. Obukhov has purely political explanations: in 1999 there was the “Redbelt,” but Boris Yeltsin’s ratings comprised a pathetic percentage. Buti n 2009 the vertical of power drastically narrowed regional and municipal leaders’ authorities and resource base.