KYIV. July 29 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The majority of Kharkiv residents (55%) trust secretary of Kharkiv City Council Ihor Terekhov, 29% of the city residents do not trust him, according to the results of a survey conducted by Human Research on the initiative of Kharkiv Sociological Network from June 24 to July 5, and presented at the Interfax-Ukraine agency on Thursday.

According to the study results, MP Yulia Svitlychna and businessman Oleksandr Yaroslavsky are trusted by 38% of respondents, 36% and 17%, respectively, do not trust them.

The rest of public figures have a negative balance of trust: MP Oleksandr Feldman is trusted by 36% of respondents, while 45% do not trust him, ex-mayor of Kharkiv (2006-2010) Mykhailo Dobkin is trusted by 32%, while 56% do not trust him, MP Yevhen Murayev is trusted by 23%, while 25% do not trust him, and ex-head of Kharkiv Regional State Administration Ihor Rainin is trusted by 6%, while 24% of Kharkiv residents do not trust him.

Some 65% of respondents assess Terekhov's perfomance as secretary of Kharkiv City Council positively, 18% see it as negative. The work of deputies of Kharkiv City Council for six months is positively assessed by 39% of respondents, 26% assess it negatively. The work of head of Kharkiv Regional State Administration Aina Tymchuk for six months was positively assessed by 9%, and negatively by 27%.

Some 50% of Kharkiv residents note the presence of changes for the better in the city over the past six months, 9% declare a deterioration, 41% did not notice any significant changes in Kharkiv over the specified period.

In the course of the study, 1,200 respondents were interviewed using face-to-face interview method at their place of residence in a two-stage sample using systematic and random mechanical selection schemes. The statistical sampling error does not exceed 3%.

The company notes that the results of the study cast doubt on the stereotype that Ukrainians have a negative attitude towards the authorities and do not believe that the country is developing in the right direction, and a survey in Kharkiv showed that public opinion is rather positive at the local level.

"After the postponement of the elections of the mayor of Kharkiv until autumn, there were fears that the city authorities would not be able to keep the situation under their control and keep the living standards of Kharkiv residents at the same level. But the fears did not justify themselves. The team of acting mayor Ihor Terekhov showed a decent level of work. Improvement of the city, the work of utilities, public transport were and remain examples for other cities ... Sociology also shows a qualitative improvement in the image of Kharkiv in recent years," said Director of the Institute for Global Strategies Vadym Karasiov.

Political expert Oleksandr Kochetkov believes that Kharkiv sociology is of great interest and at the national level suggests taking Kharkiv as an example for other cities in Ukraine. "It's time to understand that the impulse should not come from the central government. It should come from cities and communities ... It's time to become realistic and not rely on Kyiv. We need to move from the bottom to top. First, it is necessary to create viable management models on the ground, as happened under Hennadiy Kernes and now under Ihor Terekhov. And then scale the approach to the whole of Ukraine," he said.