One in five Russians are willing to take part in mass political demonstrations, a new poll shows, in a sign of continued discontent with the country’s leaders after a summer marked by demonstrations.
The poll by the Levada Center, released on December 2, showed 19 percent of respondents were ready to personally participate in political protests, while 29 percent said they considered it a possibility.
Almost one-third of the 1,610 people surveyed said they would protest against economic conditions.
The results were in line with previous surveys by Levada.
Russia's sluggish economic growth, which has prompted President Vladimir Putin to order his government to find ways to jump-start the economy, and a summer of pro-democracy protests have posed some of the biggest challenges the president has faced during his two decades in power.
Political dissent reached a crescendo in July and August with a series of protests that saw hundreds arrested amid heavy-handed tactics by police.
The protests were sparked by the refusal of election officials to allow a large number of opposition figures from running in September municipal elections in Moscow and elsewhere.
