No Influence

From the MT:
"Most Russians Feel No Ability to Influence Country – Poll"

Some 73 percent of Russians feel they have no influence over what happens in their country, a survey by the independent Levada Center revealed Wednesday.  The figure has risen from 59 percent in November last year, with the percentage of respondents who believed they could slightly influence the country falling from 30 percent to 17 percent over the same period. Fifty-four percent of respondents also said they had no ability to influence what goes on in their city or their region, with only 30 percent believing that they had a slight ability to do so. Out of the 1600 respondents, sixty-four percent said that they felt absolutely no responsibility for what happens in the country, rising from 55 percent in November last year. The Levada Center interviewed Russians aged 18 and older in 137 urban and rural communities across 48 Russian regions between June 23 and 27. The report comes months before elections for the Russian State Duma. Another recent poll by the Levada Center showed that a third of Russians expect the upcoming State Duma elections to be rigged, and that only ten percent of Russians believe that the 2011 elections were not manipulated in some way.

^ Sadly, it seems that the majority of ordinary Russians do not have much, if any, influence about how their country is run or its role in the world. While it does not surprise me at all it is a sad statement of reality. ^

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/most-russians-feel-no-ability-to-influence-country--poll/575040.html