Press Release, February 8, 2014

Grigory Yavlinsky is one of the most recognisable Russian oppositional politicians: 42 per cent of respondents in the Levada Centre poll mentioned Yavlinsky when replying to the question “whom of the following oppositional politicians you know”.

Yavlinsky is followed with a big gap by blogger Alexei Navalny (32 per cent), Alexei Kudrin, Russian ex Finance Minister in 2000-2011 ( 29 per cent), Mikhail Kasyanov, ex Prime Minister in 2000-2004 (26 per cent) and Vladimir Ryzhkov, ex Co-Chair of the RPR-Parnas party (with only 20 per cent).

Vladimir Putin’s “sparring partners” at 2012 presidential elections top the rating: heads of parliamentary factions Vladimir Zhirinovsky (68 per cent), Gennady Zyuganov (62 per cent), Sergei Mironov (45 per cent) and oligarch Mikhail Prokhorov (49 per cent). The only independent candidate Grigory Yavlinsky were not allowed to run in these elections.

Do Grigory Yavlinsky also tops the rating of trust among the opposition with five per cent. Alexei Navalny, Alexei Kudrin and Vladimir Ryzhkov have three per cent respectively, and Mikhail Kasyanov only one per cent. The same rating of trust was given to Boris Nemtsov, the other Co-Chair of the RPR-Parnas party, despite the fact that 45 per cent of respondents know his name. In the “anti-rating” Nemtsov (-17 per cent) is second only to Vladimir Zhirinovsky (-19 per cent).

The poll of the Levada Centre was conducted on January 24-27 on the all-Russian representative sample of urban and rural population of 1,603 people over 18 years of age in 130 settlements in 45 Russian regions.