Public trust politsiya less than militsiya

by Alina Lobzina at 11/11/2011

Despite their patchy reputation of the past, the Russian militsiya were still more trusted than the renamed police now are, a survey has found.

Less than 10 percent of Russians said they preferred the new name over the old one, while nearly 80 percent claimed the meaning of “militsiya” was at least clearer to them, according to a Levada Center poll.

And a record breaking 75 percent noticed no changes in the work of the keepers of law and order. Police underwent a mass re-accreditation earlier this year, taking on a new name as well as new standards.

Pre-revolutionary name

The survey was carried out in 45 Russian regions, and 1,601 people over 18 took part, the Levada Center’s official website said.

The number of those who noticed any changes in the work of the rebranded force halved this year with only 6 percent saying it had improved and 14 claiming the opposite, in comparison to the last poll’s results in 2007.

The name police was used before the revolution and scrapped after 1917’s Communist Revolution. The name was officially brought back on March 1 this year, when the new Police Bill came into force.

No holiday for the boys in gray

The idea of giving a new name to the milistiya was meant to improve the unfortunate reputation, but other surveys also found that lesser mortals have noticed no difference.

And as for the officers themselves, the new title has made them probably the only people in Russia without a professional holiday in their name.

Den Militsii, or the day of militsiya, celebrated on Nov. 10 since 1962, hasn’t been renamed to match the new terminology. It is henceforth called the day of the employees of the Internal Affairs Ministry.

President Dmitry Medvedev and the Internal Affairs Minister Rashid Nurgaliyev both passed on their congratulations on the occasion.

Date: 2015-02-16; view: 905