Putin named person of the year in Russia in Levada Center sociological survey
As many as 26% of Russians interviewed by the Levada Center sociological service have once again described Russian President Vladimir Putin as the person of the year in a December 2013 poll.
Putin has been found the person of the year in all polls conducted by the Levada Center since 1999.
Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu was named the person of the year by 7% of those polled, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev by 4%, former U.S. National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden by 4%, and former Yukos head Mikhail Khodorkovsky recently amnestied by the president by 3%.
Asked whom they see as the woman of the year, 12% mentioned singer Alla Pugachyova, 4% Federation Council Chair Valentina Matviyenko, and 3% German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
More than half of the respondents - 51% - said in the same poll that the outgoing year was successful for them personally, compared to 47% in 2012.
The poll showed also that 24% of the respondents are discontented with the outgoing year (compared to 31% in 2012), and another 30% admitted that this year was harder for their families and beloved ones than the previous one (32% in 2012).
About one third of the respondents - 34% - described the outgoing year as more difficult for the country than the previous one, 20% hold the opposite view, and 46% did not notice any changes in this respect.
