Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, left, and Russian Defense Minister, Deputy Prime Minister Sergey Ivanov, right
Photo: Dmitry Azarov
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President’s Successors Advanced to the Next Tour
If the president’s elections were held in the nearest weekend, the key contenders would be today’s candidates to Putin’s successor – Dmitry Medvedev and Sergey Ivanov, signaled November poll of Levada-Center.
Amid the would-be presidents, no absolute leader has emerged so far for the better part of the Russians. The poll of Levada-Cener showed that neither the opposition chiefs nor potential successors proved able to leave behind the 50-percent majority required for winning in the first tour of elections. The 1st Vice Premier Dmitry Medvedev was backed up by 38 percent of the polled, and Defense Minister Sergey Ivanov enjoyed the support of 23 percent.
Both candidates to president’s successor have improved their scores in November. Medvedev gained 14 percent vs. October (24 percent), and Ivanov climbed 6 percent (vs. 17 percent).
For the first time, Defense Minister Sergey Ivanov managed to outrun the two eternal runners for Russia’s presidency - Communist Leader Gennady Zyuganov and LDPR Leader Vladimir Zhirinovsky. In October, 20 percent of respondents would have voted for Zyuganov and 21 percent would have favored Zhirinovsky, but their popularity narrowed to 10 percent and 12 percent in November respectively.
So, the conclusion of Levada-Center was that Medvedev would have won the president’s race with 30 percent of votes in the second tour should the elections have been held in November. Ivanov would have gathered 24 percent of votes.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of Dec. 15, 2006
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