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G7 citizens critical of Putin's impact on Russian democracy: 91Èȱ¬
poll
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A majority of G7 citizens regard President Putin as a "negative influence on democracy and human rights in Russia", according to a 91Èȱ¬ World Service poll.
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Fifty-six per cent of respondents from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, UK and USA (the G7 nations) believe he has been a negative influence on democracy and human rights in Russia, while 26 per cent regard his role as positive in this area.
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Forty-seven per cent of G7 citizens, according to the poll, are also negative about Putin's influence "on peace and security in the world" with 38 per cent regarding him positively on the issue.
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However the President gets a favourable rating from G7 citizens on Russia's overall relations with other countries. Forty-five per cent say his influence has been positive while 40 per cent say he has been a negative influence.
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G7 citizens are divided on Putin's influence "on the quality of life in Russia" (44% negative; 39% positive) and "on Russia's reliability as a supplier of energy" (41% negative; 37% positive).
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Asked to rate Russia's overall role in the world, 44 per cent of G7 citizens say it is mainly negative while 30 per cent say mainly positive.
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The G7 results contrast starkly with the views in many other of the 31 countries polled, according to the poll.
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For instance, urban Chinese citizens give President Putin strongly positive ratings of between 76 per cent (on the issue of quality of life in Russia) and 60 per cent (on whether Russia is a reliable energy supplier).
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As his eight-year presidency ends in May 2008, those polled around the world are divided on whether they consider Russia to have a positive role in the world.
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Most positive on Russia's role are Egyptians (78% positive) and the Chinese (69%).
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Most negative are Germans (56% negative), Italians (53%), and Israelis (53%).
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In Russia itself, large majorities approve of Putin's performance on most counts.
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Eighty-six per cent see Putin's leadership on Russia's foreign relations as positive; 77 per cent are positive on Russia's quality of life; 76 per cent on world peace and security; 72 per cent on Russia's energy role; and 64 per cent on democracy in Russia.
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The results are drawn from a survey of almost 16,000 adult citizens across the 31 countries regularly polled for the 91Èȱ¬ World Service by the international polling firm GlobeScan together with the Program on International Policy Attitudes (PIPA) at the University of Maryland.
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GlobeScan coordinated fieldwork between 31 October 2007 and 25 January 2008.
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Apart from Russia, no countries from the former Soviet Union or Eastern Europe were included.
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GlobeScan President Doug Miller says: "President Putin gets poor marks for his impact on democracy and human rights in Russia, but overall many people around the world think he has been good for Russia."
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Notes to Editors
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Further detailed information about the poll is available to the media from the 91Èȱ¬ World Service Press Office.
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91Èȱ¬ World Service Press Office
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