Public support for large opposition protests is slipping, with 39 percent of Russians continuing to support them, compared with 44 percent after disputed State Duma elections in December, according to a poll released Monday.
The new poll, conducted by the independent Levada Center, found that only 17 percent of respondents would attend protests against election fraud if they were held in the near future, Interfax reported. The majority, 74 percent, said they would not participate.
The last March of Millions was held on Sept. 15, attracting about 10,000 to 30,000 people in Moscow, according to various estimates. No new rally has been scheduled, but opposition leaders have discussed holding one in late October.
While most Russians are in no mood to protest elections, many are unhappy with the government’s decision several years ago to remove the “against all” line from ballots, Levada found in a second poll released Monday.
That survey indicated that 74 percent of Russians think the line should be brought back, while 15 percent opposed the idea and 12 percent had no opinion on the matter.
Interfax gave no margin of error, but Levada’s national surveys usually have a margin of error of 3.4 percentage points.
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