Russia's Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu is rated as the country's most efficient minister, according to a survey released by state-run pollster VTsIOM on Thursday.

      Shoigu was appointed Defense Minister in November 2012; prior to that he headed Russia's Emergencies Ministry.

      According to the poll, Shoigu's activity received the highest average mark of 4.28 points out of five, up one point since September 2012. He is followed by the Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov with 3.81 points. Russia's Emergencies Minister Vladimir Puchkov is the third with 3.61 points.

      Other ministers in the top ten are Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin (3.27 points), Communications Minister Nikolai Nikiforov and Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko (3.21 points each), First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov (3.20), Culture Minister Vladimir Medinsky (3.09) and Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev (3.06).

      The survey was conducted in September 2013 and involved over 1,600 respondents in 130 Russian cities and towns.