The Levada Center investigated the attitude of Russians towards Alexei Navalny. The Russians spoke about their attitude to bulk Navalny's new projects

We need to help Navalny. So far, he is the only foreseeable hope that the country and the region will begin to climb out of the swamp.

Nikolai Zmielov

No matter how someone treats him, but today he does a lot of sensible and right things, most importantly, he tries to tell the truth, bitter about us and about himself ... He needs help, a fact, if not by participating in his projects, then at least with money ... Almost 10 million people watched Navalny's film online, but this does not arouse interest among information structures and no one tries to comprehend the event, so Vomsk cowardly hid behind Navalny, because it is impossible to discuss corrupt bureaucrats and why not?

Tatyana Nagibina

Everyone has their own truth. The truth that is from Zhirik is also liked by a certain electorate. The same is true about Navalny, everyone hears his truth in his own way. You think that he is the most truthful, others do not perceive his truth.

Dmitry Pominov

Bulk literate player, it will be interesting. Navalny is an integral part of the existing system of the Russian Federation. If it didn’t exist, it would have to be invented) This is both a “whistle that blows steam”, and a person around whom potential opposition is grouped - and it is easy to figure it out and take it “under the hood”, and a tool in intra-clan showdowns in the country. And this figure plays quite interesting combinations. This, if I may say so, is a pike, so that the crucian does not doze off. It will be interesting to look at our local "carp" when this player enters the area)

Igor Rodionov

Bulk fellow. Navalny's admission to the presidential election is a necessary condition for the evolution of the political system. I support with all my hands and even a little money.

Boris Ivanchuk

I want, I'm going to meet the arrival of the Primary. Ready to help!

Roman Terekhov

Tell Navalny that Omsk is the same city where a completely random passer-by hit the first and last president of the USSR, Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev, in the face...

Elena Kaspirovich

I am for Navalny. Of course, he is an ambiguous figure. I don't like his connections with nationalists in the past. I understand very well that what he does is beyond what is permitted in our country. Only now one gets the impression that he plays with this system according to some strange rules, as if invented for him alone. And this cannot but suggest that he is a project of the Kremlin, or one of its towers. BUT! All this seems to me secondary, because now Navalny is trying to launch absolutely new processes in society, democratic in essence. Moreover, he very competently approaches the organization of his activities, which is worth one submission of material. I don't know if I will vote for him in the presidential elections, there is still a year ahead. But I am sure that if we want to move towards democracy, Navalny needs to be supported. It's a pity for money - support with likes and reposts.

Andrey Kononenko

Navalny is good at destroying. A sort of mini-Yeltsin. It's hard for him to create. Well, some kind of dictator among his hamsters.

Anna Tarasenko

I can't believe him, even crack. I look at the face, facial expressions, hear intonations - and that’s it, I don’t believe in sincerity. The feeling does not leave that as soon as he gets power, he will begin to use it for personal purposes, like those whom he is now criticizing. I repeat: feelings. I don't want to argue with anyone :-)

Lyudmila Korostel

Personally, he scares me. He has completely unhealthy eyes. I see it clearly, and I say it without irony, redneck or anything else. Once I sinned and called him "death", just out of shock. I can’t say that this person is insane, because I’m not a doctor. But remember my word - it is very heavily accentuated. And it will be used. Definitely both "ours" and "strangers". I sympathize with him and I feel sorry for him as a human being. I feel like he's close to burnout. Needs good rest and revitalization. His supporters need to save him, not because the current government wants to "remove" him - this is nonsense. It has the same call of the abyss as Nemtsov. Hero, Prometheus, Wrestler. But not sober, not sober at all. And that means irresponsible. Lamb. God forbid he finally gets used to the role, it will be like with Boris Efimovich. But ... the lambs that have reached the source of power easily turn into goats. They need to eat. This is purely personal opinion, very personal. Without pretense of any impartiality.

More than half of citizens are either indifferent to politics or do not know about it

Opposition politician, founder of the Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK) Alexei Navalny is indifferent to most Russians. The criminal case against the FBK is supported by almost a third of the population, according to the results of a sociological survey.

According to the Levada Center study, almost two-thirds of Russians are either not aware of Navalny's activities or are indifferent to him (31% each). Only 9% of respondents have a positive attitude towards Navalny, and one in four is negative. It is noted that in two years the popularity of the politician has grown by 10 percentage points - from 55% to 65%.

Almost half of Russians (47%) know nothing about the criminal case against the FBK, which is suspected of money laundering, as well as searches at the headquarters of the fund. Among the informed part of the population, opinions about the FBK case were divided. The fact that with the help of a criminal case, the authorities suppress independent anti-corruption investigations, said 18% of respondents. The same number of Russians are of the opinion that in this way the state resists outside interference in the internal affairs of the state. Least of all people (12%) believe that the attacks on the FBK are really related to money laundering by the fund, Interfax reports.

In early October, FBK was included in the list of foreign agents in Russia by decision of the Ministry of Justice. Vladimir Titov, head of the Justice Ministry's NGO department, explained that the department had all the evidence of foreign funding. According to the Ministry of Justice, FBK received two tranches from Spain and one from the United States in the amount of 140,000 rubles.

Navalny Foundation On October 18, the Ministry of Justice to the Zamoskvoretsky Court of Moscow, demanding that the organization be excluded from the list of foreign agents. However, on November 1, the court legalized the decision of the Ministry of Justice.

In September and October, mass searches were carried out in Russia in the regional divisions of the FBK. The first wave occurred in September - 150 searches were carried out in 45 cities. The second in mid-October, centurion searches took place in 30 regions. According to the employees of the fund, their equipment is confiscated and their bank accounts are blocked.

of Levada Center respondents believe in the authenticity of Navalny's anti-corruption investigations

People like the fact that Alexei Navalny uncompromisingly fights corruption, but his nationalism and desire for power repels him, showed a nationwide poll conducted by the Levada Center at the end of March. Almost 40% of Russians know the name of the 37-year-old founder of the Anti-Corruption Foundation. It is this struggle that Navalny likes most of all (it was noted by 16% of respondents). Another 12% said they were attracted by his uncompromising attitude in relations with the authorities, 9% - by his leadership qualities.

Navalny's ideological positions are occupied by few: 6% like that he adheres to nationalist views, 2% are satisfied with his liberal aspirations. Part of the audience pays attention to his appearance: 5% like his youth, 2% - appearance.

More often than not, Russians pointed to Navalny's nationalist views when asked what they didn't like about him: 13% didn't like nationalism. But this is not his most unpleasant quality: in the first place - "participation in corruption schemes" (17%), in the second - "desire for power" (16%), in the third - "connection with the United States" (14%).

A fighter against corruption and a corrupt official himself is not a paradox, but the opinion of two audiences of Navalny, Levada sociologist Denis Volkov explains: the first has known him for a long time, the second has learned about him now - from state television.

It was in connection with Navalny’s anti-corruption activities that a criminal case was initiated against him on charges of organizing the theft in Kirovles (the trial began on April 24), according to one in four respondents, and this is the most popular explanation. Another 14% believe that Navalny abused the powers of an adviser to the governor.

The population as a whole is more popular with more systemic oppositionists, whose fame comes from the 1990s, Volkov notes, but among street activists, Navalny is the undisputed leader, his leadership is recognized even by those who do not share his views. It is logical that there are more people who support him as an accused than those who share his convictions as a politician. A similar situation was with the attitude towards Mikhail Khodorkovsky during the trial in the Yukos case, the sociologist recalls.

ALL PHOTOS

According to Vedomosti, almost a third of Russians (30%) believe that searches in the Alexei Navalny Anti-Corruption Foundation and criminal cases against its employees are explained by the real need to protect the country from foreign influence and the fight against money laundering
Freeze frame video RoSaRiO AgRo / www.youtube.com

18% of respondents said that in this way the authorities want to suppress independent anti-corruption investigations. At the same time, 9% of respondents have a positive attitude towards Navalny's activities, 25% - negatively, and 31% do not know anything about it or are indifferent
Moscow-Live.ru / Nikolay Budishevsky

Levada Center specialists found out how Russians treat defendants in criminal cases against oppositionists. According to Vedomosti, almost a third of Russians (30%) believe that searches in the Alexei Navalny Anti-Corruption Foundation and criminal cases against its employees are explained by the real need to protect the country from foreign influence and the fight against money laundering.

The respondents are more sympathetic towards the persons involved in the "case of July 27". According to sociologists, 57% believe that cases are initiated to "intimidate the opposition-minded public," and 34% believe that the organizers and those who resisted law enforcement are guilty. About 30% of Russians know about the criminal cases against protesters in Moscow, the same number have heard about the summer events and their consequences, but do not know what they are. At the same time, residents of the capital are better informed about the "Moscow affair" than others, and the proportion of those who disagree with the official accusations in Moscow is higher than in Russia: 74% associate it with intimidating the opposition.

As Levada Center sociologist Natalya Zorkaya explained, in general, Russians have an ambivalent attitude towards Navalny: some support his anti-corruption activities, but the other part treats him with mistrust and fear. With regard to him, conspiracy theories and the money laundering version are strong. There is more sympathy for the defendants in the "Moscow case", because people heard how tough the dispersal of the protests was and how biased justice turned out to be. At the same time, a third of Russians, mostly of the older generation and more dependent on the authorities, support the verdicts in this case. In 2012, support for the swamp protesters was higher, as overall approval of the protests was more pronounced.

Other experts note that Russians do not support Navalny's revolutionary spirit, while the defendants in the "Moscow case" have nothing to do with him. Thus, people draw a line between the opposition, which is fighting for power, and the society, which expresses discontent and falls under excessive police violence. The fear of police brutality has risen sharply in 2018 and remains at a high level, while sympathy for Navalny is the privilege of a minority that is extremely dissatisfied with what is happening in the country and advocates a change of power.

In early August, the Investigative Committee opened a criminal case against the FBK under Part 4 of Art. 174 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. According to investigators, from January 2016 to December 2018, FBK employees "criminally" received a large amount in rubles and foreign currency and, in order to legalize them, deposited these funds through ATMs to the settlement accounts of several banks, after which the money was credited to current settlement accounts. fund accounts.

On October 9, the Ministry of Justice of Russia added FBK Alexei Navalny to the list of foreign agents, seeing in its activities signs of financing from abroad. Navalny called the actions of the Ministry of Justice "absolutely illegal" and suggested that the department was acting "obviously on direct orders from Putin." He stressed that FBK exists on donations from citizens of the Russian Federation and demanded to provide evidence of receipt of foreign money.

FBK director Ivan Zhdanov suggested that the inclusion on the list of foreign agents is another way of pressure aimed at stopping investigations against high-ranking Russian officials. According to him, the reason for being included in the list of foreign agents was two tranches received from the United States and Spain to a blocked account, and in the case of Spain, it was a foreign organization with a ruble account, which in itself is very unusual. Zhdanov suggested that the fund faced a provocation from Russian law enforcement agencies. Later it became known that the translation from Spain came from a boxer who does not speak Russian and has no friends in Russia.

Earlier it was also reported that in the hacked correspondence of the consultant of the Presidential Administration Konstantin Kostin, a "plan to fight Navalny" was discovered, prepared by pro-Kremlin analysts a few years ago. In particular, it dealt with the organization of provocations with the transfer of donations.

” grew a little, then his attitude deteriorated a little. The Levada expert links the fall with the context of events in Ukraine.

As can be seen from Levada's data, Navalny's awareness has steadily grown since April 2011. The jump in his popularity apparently occurred after a radio debate with a member of the Duma United Russia, during which the meme "crooks and thieves" was born, which dealt a strong blow to the brand. In 2011-2012, he becomes one of the leaders in a series of protests against election fraud in and raises awareness at the federal level. In the summer of 2012, Navalny was arrested in the Kirovles case and placed under house arrest.

“By September 2013, in connection with the election of the mayor of Moscow, recognition indicators rose to a maximum and since then have been on average at the same level, but less than in 2013.

At the same time, his attitude is deteriorating. If in 2013 in one way or another 30% had a positive attitude, and 20% had a negative attitude, now it is the opposite ratio – 17 and 37%,”
- says "Gazeta.Ru" deputy director of the center.

The Levada table shows how in 2014 the recognition of the opposition leader cut off from the outside world is falling.

Explaining the attitude of the respondents to the verdict and the personality of Navalny, Grazhdankin states that each new verdict of the court is assessed by the respondents as more and more adequate to what is happening: “Thus, assessments that are inspired by the authorities more and more prevail. This is inevitable, since we have noticed over the past year that interest in the activities of the opposition, trust in the opposition has drastically decreased. The events on the Kiev Maidan a year ago have spoiled the image in the eyes of the layman of any kind of protest activity.”

The vice president believes that Navalny's recognition after the election campaign remains high, he is remembered. The political scientist connects a slight increase in recognition in recent months with the December verdict and the expected protests in the event of a real term.

“Judging by the set of assessments, the attitude towards Navalny has settled down. Groups of sympathizers and those who sharply reject him have emerged. A huge number of people treat him indifferently, - Makarkin comments on the survey in relation to respondents to Navalny. - According to the verdict, people also divided into two tough subcultures: “Navalny is completely right” versus “Navalny is completely to blame” and groups with a softer attitude. Due to a suspended sentence (although his brother Oleg Navalny was given a real term), Navalny did not become a victim in the eyes of the majority. Outside of his subculture, the attitude towards him is detached with various shades, but without much interest in fate.

However, the political scientist suggests not to underestimate the importance of Navalny's active supporters: “This is only a few percent, but they can even come out to an unsanctioned rally in support of him. Here we must judge not only by numbers, but also by the readiness of the active group to do something in defense. Consistent supporters of Navalny are resourceful and active.”

As for the decline in respondents loyal to Navalny in relation to the verdict, Makarkin recalls the “Crimea effect”.

“Crimea and the situation in eastern Ukraine played their role. Navalny corrected his position on Crimea from a sharp rejection to a more ambivalent position. But the fact is that the break has already occurred and for some of the former sympathizers of Bolotnaya, everything connected with it has become unacceptable. These are partly representatives of the left and nationalist subculture, with which Navalny actively played, the political scientist argues. - This is also the periphery of the protest, apolitical people who simply do not like officials - they are not liberals and for them the reference point is more than Andropov. When it was necessary to make a choice on the annexation of Crimea, for many of them the theses about “a great country and the return of Crimea” turned out to be of higher values than the fight against corruption or the fight for freedom. Now the situation has stabilized and the politically active groups have made up their minds and dispersed to the corners.”

The question remains how Navalny can expand his loyal audience in the current conditions. Makarkin says that adjusting his position on Crimea will deprive Navalny of some of the liberal sympathizers, who are poorly read by the tools of sociology. However, this move would later help win the trust of more traditionalist groups.

In addition, Makarkin draws attention to the fact that Navalny, together with Khodorkovsky, are activating the anti-corruption agenda and the topic of government inefficiency, which is important against the backdrop of the economic crisis. Navalny is investigating the subject, and Khodorkovsky is asking European leaders to disclose data on the property and accounts of the Russian elite abroad.

“During a crisis, requests for such signals may increase. Society is getting more and more irritated and confused. The euphoria from Crimea has long gone, and in this situation, Navalny, on the one hand, says that we will not give up Crimea, and negotiations can drag on for decades, and on the other hand, he acts as a whistleblower. The demand for this may grow, which Navalny is preparing for, ”

Makarkin concludes.

Levada's survey was conducted on January 23-26, 2015 on a representative all-Russian sample of the urban and rural population among 1,600 people aged 18 and over in 134 settlements in 46 regions of the country. The distribution of responses is given as a percentage of the total number of respondents, together with data from previous surveys. The statistical error of the data of these studies does not exceed 3.4%.