MOSCOW, April 12 (UPI) -- Nearly all Russians -- except communists -- view President Vladimir Putin as a nice fellow according to a new poll, the Rosbalt news agency reported Monday.
Putin won a landslide re-election for a second four-year presidential term March 14, capturing 71 percent of the vote. But his personal popularity is far higher according to the poll conducted among 1,500 people nationwide April 3 by the Public Opinion organization.
It found 85 percent of Russians like Putin personally and only 4 percent actively dislike him. Of that small minority, 14 percent supported the Communist Party in the most recent parliamentary elections, the poll found.
Respondents said the president's strongest qualities were his decisiveness, his ability to pursue goals, his toughness, his calmness in the face of provocation, and his self-confidence, Rosbalt reported.
