RUSSIANS DO NOT FAVOR WAR.

On August 29, a leading Russian polling organization, The All-Russian Center for the Study of Public Opinion (VTsIOM), published the results of a Russia-wide poll taken during the period August 21-27. “Thirty-one percent of respondents,” VTsIOM reported, “deem it necessary to continue the military actions in Chechnya, while 59 percent express themselves in favor of peace negotiations. Only 5 percent believe that the military actions in Chechnya have already ended, or that they will conclude before the end of this year, while 37 percent believe that they are not likely to end [even] in ten to fifteen years’ time.” Asked during the course of a July poll, “How successfully has Vladimir Putin coped with the problem of destroying the rebels in Chechnya?” only 4 percent of respondents selected the choice, “Very successfully.” Twenty-three percent opted for “rather successfully,” while almost half of the respondents–47 percent–answered “without particular success.” Eighteen percent opined that Putin had coped “completely unsuccessfully” with the problem of destroying the rebels (Wciom.ru, August 29).