You're reading: Poll: Half of Russians would not like Putin to run for fourth term

Moscow - Nearly every second Russian (49%) would like Vladimir Putin's third term of presidency to be his last, as follows from an opinion poll held by the Levada Center in August. 

The number of those who share this view has grown by 6% since March.

At the same time, 22% of the respondents wouldn’t mind if Putin holds office for another six years after his current term expires (up from 17% in March), while 7% would like Dmitry Medvedev to take over in 2018 (6% in March). The number of those who haven’t formed their opinion on the issue has decreased from 34% in March to 22% now.

As for what top federal officials are guided by in their work, more than one-third of the respondents (35%) think that it’s “retaining their grip on power at any cost and defending their current positions”, but the majority of people sincerely feel that those currently at the helm really want to “turn Russia into a modern, economically developed and socially comfortable country” (25%) and to “revive its great power status and the former geopolitical balance of forces” (25%).

However, most Russians have a vague idea of what is now happening in the country: 36% think that “order is being restored”, 23% fear more chaos and disorder, 14% see signs of “authoritarian rule”, 10% feel that democracy is getting stronger, and 17% had no answer.

The poll was conducted among 1,601 persons aged between 18 and older in 130 communities in 45 Russian regions.