charity funds, separated from VTsIOM. In 1999 VCIOM achieved scientific institute status. Conflict (2003) Although VTsIOM received no budget money and funded itself with private and public sector polling contracts (grants) from the breakdown of Soviet Union in 1992 to 2003, Levada had not addressed the fact that the polling agency remained a state-owned company as a FGUP (Russian abbreviation for: Federal State Unit). In 2003 the Ministry of Property of the Russian Federation decided to transform FGUP VTsIOM to JSC "Russian Public Opinion Research Center", 100% share of which was to be held by the state. There still would have been no budget allocated for it from the state and the company was to continue its work based on financing from both private and public institutions. However this change was taken by Yuri Levada as an attempt to affect the outcomes of VTsIOM studies. As a result, the previous VTsIOM employees left the company and followed Yuri Levada to the new established non-governmental Levada Center. A young political scientist - Valery Fedorov who, as some sources note, was close to the Administration of the President of the Russian Federation headed the office. VTsIOM carried on research programs introduced by its previous staff and continued to publish the Monitoring of Public Opinion journal; in 2003 former editorial board members began publishing a new journal called the Public Opinion Herald. There is conflicting data about response from other Russian sociologists to the breakup of VTsIOM. Some sources reported that every sociologist left with Levada while others claims they were silent, except for Grushin. The dispute over the legality of using the VTsIOM brand in sociological community ended up in 2004 The Federal Antimonopoly Service decided to give VTsIOM the full right of use of the brand "VTsIOM" and prohibited Levada-Center to use it. When asked about VTsIOM management change during his visit to Columbia University in the United States in September 2003, Russian president Vladimir Putin was supportive of the change in management. Present role as the state's main sociological research center The research priorities today are political ratings, social mood indices, governmental programs, and reforms. VTsIOM still conducts research for the most significant Russian private and public institutions. New - applied and pragmatic focus of research programs is expressed in a change in its slogan - "Information for success!" instead of the former "From opinion – towards understanding". Criticism The