MOSCOW, September 22 (RIA Novosti) - Less than a tenth of Russians support imprisoned former Yukos chief executive Mikhail Khodorkovsky, according to a recent survey conducted by a nationwide pollster.
The All-Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VTsIOM) survey found that 27% of respondents said they had a negative opinion of Khodorkovsky, and 46% said they were indifferent to the former magnate.
This year's figures are more concrete than data from a survey taken in the summer of 2003, when 56% of respondents showed indifference to Khodorkovsky and the number of his supporters and opponents were almost equal (8% and 10% respectively).
In Moscow, where Khodorkovsky is seeking a seat in the State Duma (Russia's lower house of parliament) in upcoming by-elections, the number of his supporters is higher (19%) than in Russia's regions, but two-times lower than the number of opponents.
When asked whether they were aware of Khodorkovsky's plans to run for parliament, 43% of respondents said they knew or had at least heard about it. The figure among Moscow residents was much higher (70%). However, respondents both in Moscow and the Russian regions were equal in their assessment of Khodorkovsky's chances in the elections - 57% said he would lose.
An overwhelming majority of Russians (69%) said they would not vote for Khodorkovsky if he ran in their election district. When asked to give reasons for their decision, respondents referred to his bad reputation, some calling him a thief, and his intention to run for parliament, a greedy move made to secure immunity.
Ten percent of regional respondents and 19% of Moscow residents said they would probably vote for Khodorkovsky, since they thought he was wrongfully convicted and would make for a good politician. Others said they simply sympathized with him.
More than 75% of Russians said they did not know anything about Khodorkovsky's political views, whereas 12% were familiar with his political agenda.
The survey was conducted on August 17-18 and included 1,500 people from 100 settlements and cities in 44 regions, territories, and republics of Russia, along with an additional 600 Moscow residents. The margin of error did not exceed 3.6%.
