Under study has been the citizens' approach to the authorities and election processes in countries of the common economic environment. Approaches do differ, sociologists say. While most Russians, Kazakhstanis and Belarussians approve of the activities of their presidents, many Ukrainians treat negatively performance of President Leonid Kuchma. However, over the last six months trust in him has risen from 18 to 24 percent. The leader of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, features an even greater positive dynamics - from 37 to 52 percent.
In Russia, the number of those disapproving of Vladimir Putin's policy has increased from 17 to 22 percent; that of approving declined from 74 to 68 percent. Still, like Nursultan Nazarbaev (Kazakhstan), Vladimir Putin is enjoying the support of the majority in his country.
Overall, only Belarussians are likely to trust all the supreme organs of power. These institutions are in the mistrust zone in only Ukraine. In Russia, only the president enjoys confidence. In Kazakhstan -- the head of state and parliament.
Considering the integration aspect, sociologists have stated:
* 57 percent Russians, 54 percent Belarussians, 51 percent Ukrainians and 58 percent Kazakhstanis agree to live in union with Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Ukraine. At that, every third citizen in the Quartet would prefer integration into the European Union (31 percent Russians, 30 percent Belarussians, 31 percent Ukrainians, 27 percent Kazakhstanis).
Asked which is more preferable - integration with Russia or the West -- 39 percent Ukrainians, 37 percent Belarussians, and 34 percent Kazakhstanis have chosen Russia. Parity integration (with Russia and the West) is preferred by 32, 42 and 47 percent, respectively. Meanwhile, rapprochement with only the mentioned countries of the common economic environment is preferred by 41 percent Russians against 39 percent choosing equal integration with the West.
Citizens view unification not as a "far-away political project" but the road towards improvement of personal well-being. According to Valeri Fedorov, general director of the National Public Opinion Study Centre (VTsIOM), "the gist of the population's understanding of the Quartet integration is the settlement of the main problems, such as unemployment, crime and inflation".
Overall, from 50 to 70 percent of the population in each of these countries are for establishing the common economic environment. Whether or not integration will become a reality depends on the concerted action of polity-makers. "There is time to wait, yet. Nothing has come out of the CIS: the project has flopped. We'll wait and see what the Quartet can yield", Fedorov noted.
As regards the social component of the survey, specialists note that the problem of terrorism has of late come to the foreground for the population of Russia (unlike other countries of the common economic environment). According to the poll, the number of Russians concerned over this problem increased from 15 to 45 percent over six months. The second poignant problem for Russians is crime (31 percent), followed by the price growth and inflation (24 percent), unemployment (13 percent) and the housing shortage (12 percent).
In Belarus, the most poignant problems are -- the economic situation, price growth and inflation (39 and 36 percent, respectively). Unemployment is high on the list of problems. In Ukraine and Kazakhstan, the population is more concerned over the level of crime and health protection. In these countries, terrorism draws the attention of not more than 7 percent of the respondents.
The survey has been prepared by the VTsIOM, Research Group CIRCON (Russia), Company NOVAK (Belarus), Socio-Economic Information and Prognostication Institute (Kazakhstan), Donetsk Information-Analytical Centre (Ukraine). The poll was held last September according to the national representation sampling. 1,550 people were polled in Russia, 1,075 in Belarus, 2,100 in Ukraine, 1,500 in Kazakhstan.
