Russians disagree overwhelmingly with the Kremlin: oligarchs still exist
A day before the U.S. Treasury Department announced its latest sanctions against “Russian oligarchs,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that oligarchs long ago ceased to exist in Russia. According to a new national survey by the state-run pollster VTsIOM, the country overwhelmingly disagrees with Putin’s press secretary.
Ninety-four percent of respondents told VTsIOM that there are still oligarchs in Russia, and 44 percent of these people said oligarchs are responsible for more harm than good. Thirty-six percent of respondents said oligarchs do about as much harm as good, and just 9 percent of people said oligarchs are mostly good. According to VTsIOM director Valery Fedorov, Russians view oligarchs “as a reality” and as an “integral part of the country’s business landscape.”
Why do so many Russians hate oligarchs?
Fedorov says the two main grievances are the semi-criminal origins of their assets and their excessive political influence.