RUSSIANS REALISTIC ABOUT CHECHEN SITUATION.

Writing in the October 8 issue of Polit.ru, polling specialist L.A. Sedov reported recent findings obtained by the All-Russian Center for the Study of Public Opinion (VTsIOM). When asked “how the situation in Chechnya has changed since V. Putin was elected president,” 30 percent of respondents opined that it had “gotten better,” 43 percent said that “it had not changed,” and 21 percent believed that it had “gotten worse.” These figures were significantly lower than Putin’s rating on most other questions.