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No One Minds If Moscow Region Merges
The All-Russia Center for the Study of Public Opinion has determined that Russian citizens have a serious attitude toward the consolidation of the regions. There are a few more proponents of the merger of Moscow with Moscow Region than there are opponents. The center undertook a survey of attitudes toward that potential step after it became more actively discussed in the spring of this year. The idea was first raised in 2006. St. Petersburg Governor Valentina Matvienko expressed the opinion that her city and Leningrad Region should merge, and Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov soon expressed interest in the question as well.
In 2006, 9 percent of respondents were opposed to the merger of Moscow and Moscow Region. That proportion has remained unchanged. The proportion of those in doubt, who would “most likely” be opposed to that move has fallen from 20 percent to 17 percent. The number of those in favor of it has also fallen, from 13 percent to 9 percent, while those “most likely” in favor have increased from 24 percent to 27 percent.
General director of the center Valery Fedorov explained that the idea of consolidating regions is no longer new to Russians. They “are trying to analyze it and so far do not perceive it as absolutely good or bad.” That may be why the number of those who are unable to give an answer when asked about the merger of the capital and the region around it has risen from 29 percent to 37 percent.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of July 29, 2008
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