RIA Novosti: Over 90% of Russians Against Splitting Nation – Poll

MOSCOW, November 29 (RIA Novosti) ­ Fewer than a tenth of Russians would favor breaking up the sprawling nation by allowing the secession of one of its regions, according to a poll by the independent Levada Center posted Thursday.

Just eight percent of respondents to the survey, held over November 15-18, said they felt positively about the region where they lived breaking off from Russia, while nine percent said they would favor any of the country’s regions declaring independence.

Support for separatism was higher in Russia’s Siberian and Far East regions, however, where 22 percent and 16 percent respectively said they would support a fresh start as a new nation.

Russian lawmakers have recently targeted the issue of separatism, submitting a bill in early November to outlaw the promotion of secessionism and sympathizing with separatist movements.

Lawmakers said the bill was an effort to curb increasing public support for the idea of relinquishing mainly Muslim territories in the restive North Caucasus.

Experts, however, criticized the measure for distracting attention from more serious problems in Russian society.

Fifty percent of respondents to the Levada Center poll said separatism is a significant problem in Russia, while 33 percent said the issue was not important or did not exist.

The survey of 1,603 respondents was held in 45 regions of Russia and had a margin of error no higher than 3.4 percent.