MOSCOW, January 11 (RIA Novosti) – Russians trust journalists more than businessmen, bureaucrats, and police officers, but not as much as teachers, scientists, doctors, soldiers or the clergy, a new survey on public trust released on Friday by state-run public opinion researcher VTsIOM found.
The poll, conducted in late December, found that journalists enjoy a “medium level of trust” on behalf of the public, earning a score of 3.25 on a scale of one to five, with one being the lowest score and five being the highest, the pollster said in a press release on its website.
Russians also trust journalists now more than they did two years ago, when the score was 2.95. Russians consider journalism a profession that is more socially significant, at 3.77 points out of five, than prestigious, lucrative or in demand. However, its perceived social significance decreased by 0.12 points from last year.
Scientists, teachers and the clergy enjoy the most trust on behalf of society, the poll found, having earned 3.89, 3.83, and 3.61 points, respectively, in 2012.
Police officers, meanwhile, saw the biggest growth in support, from 2.39 in 2010 to 2.65 this year, while the clergy suffered the most dramatic drop, from 3.74 points in 2010 to 3.61 in 2012.
The survey was conducted late last month in 46 Russian regions. It involved 1,600 respondents, and the margin of error was 3.4 percent.
The results arrive ahead of the Day of the Russian Press, which is observed on January 13 and commemorates the first printed Russian newspaper, published under Peter the Great in 1703.
