Survey: 42% of Russians favor death penalty for convicted terrorists

59% of Russians favor toughening punishments for terrorists, according to a recent VTsIOM survey. In addition, 42% said they supported the death penalty for convicted terrorists, 33% of respondents were in favor of restricting the movement of residents of the Northern Caucasus to other Russian regions and 26% supported the urgent economic recovery and return to a peaceful way of life in Chechnya.

Furthermore, 45% of respondents were convinced that the police were to blame for the Moscow Metro bombing earlier this month. 22% said the government was at fault, 16% said the lack of law and order in country was the cause of the blast, 14% said the Metro security was at fault, 11% of respondents said President Vladimir Putin was responsible and 10% said all Russians were at fault. Meanwhile, 59% said that the organizers of the blast would not be found, while 29% said they would.

After the Moscow Metro bombing, 33% of respondents say that they are afraid of becoming a victim of terrorism. 48% said they felt some danger, 10% didn't have any fears and 7% were confident terrorism would not impact themselves or their loved ones. 1600 people were surveyed from February 13 through February 16.