Page 20 - RPTRusFeb17

become a dangerous neighbour and another 2% said it will be an enemy.
At the same time, positive sentiment in the utilities sector that had been picking up pace since May 2016 has slipped. In autumn 2016, bne IntelliNews reported that utilities stocks rose 71% year to date, making it the best performing on the Russian market. Improvement of the outlook in January is also reflected in short-term output expectations that rose last month after sliding for five consecutive months through December 2016.
The number of executives optimistic about output growth in the coming three months exceeded the pessimists b y 16% in extraction and by 24% in manufacturing, increasing from -2% and 7% in the previous month and catching up with 20% seen in July.
The evaluation of current economic conditions or conditions of companies did not change significantly a nd remained on a modest positively-flat trend (at -3% for extraction and -6% for manufacturing), while improving slightly for manufacturing.
The six-month outlook for economic conditions that has been worsening since July improved in January: the number of optimists exceeded the number of pessimists expecting economic deterioration by 24% in extraction and 22% in manufacturing.
The main factors limiting output growth have remained the same since 2015: respondents in manufacturing and extraction in January pointed to insufficient domestic demand, economic uncertainty and high taxation levels.
The number of Russians who approve of Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin has reached a 16-year high, according to a poll by Levada Centre. The number of respondents whose attitude towards Stalin can be described as "admiration", "respect" or "liking", reached 46%, up from 37% a year ago. The number who profess indifference declined from 32% to 22% and those who say they hate him increased slightly, from 17% to 21%. The name of Stalin, who is held responsible for the deaths of millions of citizens during his 1922-52 rule of the Soviet Union, is mainly associated in people's minds with "order in the country", Alexei Grazhdankin, deputy director of Levada Centre, was quoted as saying by RBC. When the overall situation in the country declines, they tend to praise "people with a strong stand", he added. Meanwhile, the approval rating of late Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev went up from 39% to 47% and that of Russian President Vladimir Putin rose from 76% to 83%.
20 RUSSIA Country Report February 2017 www.intellinews.com