Russia Not So Democratic Anymore

Russia Not So Democratic Anymore: A new survey shows that Russians are more downbeat about democracy in the past few years than they were in the early 1990s, and they would choose a strong economy over a healthy democracy by a margin of nearly 6 to 1. The 2005 Pew Global Attitudes Survey shows a vast shift in public opinion, with many Russians disillusioned on democratization—66 percent of respondents say they would support a “strong leader” while only 28 percent supported a democratic form of government. In 1991, the results of the same question were 39 percent for a strong leader, 51 percent for democratic government, and 10 percent undecided.