Most Russians believe they have no influence over national decision-making

Only a quarter of all Russians (24%) believe that democracy is, primarily, the power of the people. This was the result of a national survey carried out by ROMIR Monitoring in order to find out more about Russians' attitudes to democracy. A further 20% said that democracy means the protection of human rights while 19% believe it means freedom of speech. 17% of respondents said democracy means free elections; 13% said it means equality and freedom. Curiously, 5-6% of Russians are convinced that democracy in Russia is characterized by anarchy, free press and the liquidation of Soviet power.

However, 92% of respondents said Russian citizens either have no power to influence important national decisions or have very limited influence. Only 6% held the opposite view. Interestingly, most of those who believe in the ability to influence important decisions were members of the armed forces while entrepreneurs mostly said their influence over such matters is limited.

1500 people took part in the survey.