About the upcoming All-Russian vote on amendments to the Constitution of the Russian Federation 79% of Russians know. This was reported by the All-Russian Center for the Study of Public Opinion (VTsIOM).
According to the center, 66% of Russians are considering the opportunity to vote, while 41% expressed confidence that they would come to polling stations. More often than others, citizens 45–59 years old (70%) and over 60 years old (73%) declare their intention to vote.
At the same time, every fourth person knows about the concrete proposals on which the voting will take place (23%). Most often, Russians referred to the clause on the mandatory regular indexation of pensions (9%), then other amendments relating to social social policy, then the restriction on the stay of one person as president of Russia for more than two consecutive terms.
The greatest support for citizens was received by the proposals on providing the state with accessibility and quality of medical services (97%), social support for children (96%), adoption of a minimum wage of at least the minimum subsistence level (95%), and annual pension indexation (94%).
The Russians also called important the clauses on the indivisibility of the territory of the Russian Federation (94%) and the prohibition for officials to have a residence permit in another country, foreign citizenship or accounts abroad (93%).
Earlier, the head of the VTsIOM, Valery Fedorov, said in an interview that of all the amendments to the Constitution of the Russian Federation proposed by President Vladimir Putin, social initiatives have the greatest support for Russians.
We are talking about changes related to state support for large families and those who decided to have a child, as well as everything related to social guarantees.
“So far, people know less about political amendments and do not really understand them. The greatest resonance among them was caused by the proposal on the priority of the Russian Constitution over international obligations, ”Fedorov explained.
The head of the center added that a nationwide vote on the amendments is planned to be held in April, and two months should be enough "to convey to the people all the necessary information."
The director of the Center for Political Analysis Pavel Danilin, in a conversation with RT, expressed the opinion that the total turnout for voting will be more than 55%, in some regions it will reach 80%.
“But overall the figure will be somewhere around 55% or higher. As for the results, it is still difficult to predict. But, based on what I heard, citizens are extremely optimistic about both social and political amendments regarding sovereignty, indexation of salaries and pensions. Therefore, I think that support for initiatives will be at the level of about 75% –80%, ”he said.
Director of the International Institute for Political Expertise Evgeni Minchenko in an interview with RT also noted that Russian citizens are most interested in changes in the social sphere.
“Innovations in the field of restructuring the branches of power and the distribution of powers are far from the real life of Russians, and nobody wants to go into all these details,” he said.
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He also explained that, judging by the data from focus group surveys conducted by some organizations, people think that the constitution will pay for the first child.
“Although in reality these payments are not provided for in these amendments, they are carried out in a different part and in a different legislative history,” the expert said.
Recall, on January 15, Russian President Vladimir Putin made an annual appeal to the Federal Assembly, during which he introduced a number of constitutional amendments for discussion.
In particular, Putin stated the need to prescribe in the Constitution that the minimum wage in the country cannot be less than the cost of living. He also called for fixing in the main law that decent pension coverage and regular indexation of pensions are guaranteed in Russia. The head of state also raised the issue of increasing the role of the Constitution and its priority over international legal norms.
Also, the leader of the country considers it necessary to entrust the State Duma not only with coordination, but also with the approval of the prime minister’s candidacy. In addition, he proposed strengthening the role of the Constitutional Court, giving it the right, at the request of the president, to verify the constitutionality of bills and other documents.
Along with this, the head of state announced the need to make the participation of governors more important in making decisions of federal significance, as well as to consolidate the role and status of the State Council in the Constitution. In addition, Putin proposed including in the main law of the country a requirement for people applying for the presidency: they must live in Russia for at least 25 years and not have foreign citizenship.