Levada Center: 25 percent of Russians favor constitutional changes; 65 percent don’t understand them

A new survey conducted by the independent Levada Center and published by Open Media indicates that one quarter (25 percent) of Russians are willing to vote for the major constitutional changes proposed by President Vladimir Putin in January. Another 37 percent of respondents said they would participate in the nationwide vote on the measures but were not yet sure whether they would vote in favor.

23 percent of respondents said they would not take part in the vote, and 10 percent said they would vote against the measures.

A majority (65 percent) said they do not understand the essence of the proposed reforms, and 58 percent said they did not understand what the changes are for. Half of those who said they were willing to vote for the proposals said they did not clearly understand what the reforms would change in the Constitution.

Among those who said they support Vladimir Putin, 36 percent said they would vote for the changes. Among Putin’s opponents, 38 percent were unsure how they would vote.

A nationwide vote on the proposals is set to take place on April 22. It will not be an official referendum and therefore may not be legally binding.