Seventy percent of Russians draw a blank when asked to identify Sergei Sobyanin, the influential former deputy prime minister who was appointed Moscow's mayor last week, according to a poll released Thursday.
Just 13 percent of respondents identified Sobyanin as mayor of Russia's capital and largest city, according to the survey of 1,600 people in 46 regions conducted over the weekend by state-run VTsIOM.
The poll had a margin of error of 3.4 percent.
Six percent of respondents knew that Sobyanin was a former governor of the oil-rich Tyumen region, and another 6 percent identified him as Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's former chief of staff.
Despite the scarce name recognition, a majority of Russians approved of his appointment by President Dmitry Medvedev.
Thirteen percent said they "fully supported" the decision and that Sobyanin was the best candidate for the post. Another 39 percent said they knew little of Sobyanin but "respected the president's choice and supported his decision."
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