Number of Russians Viewing U.S. as Threat Hits 10-Year Low – Poll

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – July 12, 2016)

The number of Russians who view the United States as a threat to other countries has hit its lowest level in a decade, a survey by the independent Levada Center found Tuesday.

Sixty-nine percent of 1,600 respondents labelled the United States as a threat, down from 77 in February 2015.

Relations between the United States and Moscow deteriorated in 2014 following the annexation of Crimea and the resulting economic sanctions against Russia by Western nations.

Levada Center sociologist Natalya Zorkaya told The Moscow Times that anti-American feeling had calmed since the height of the Ukraine Crisis, with Washington and the Kremlin now cooperating more closely over the conflict in Syria.

“The system of negative propaganda [toward the United States] is continuing, but we have seen a softening in rhetoric,” she said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke in June of Russia’s commitment to fully cooperate with the United States in the international arena. “Along with the United States and other partners, we have managed to implement ceasefire agreements in several Syrian regions. This yet again confirms that the most serious problems of today can only be solved together,” Putin said.

The Levada Center poll was carried out between June 23 and June 27, compiling the views of 1600 Russians over the age of 18 living in both urban and rural areas in 48 Russian regions.