Fewer than Half of Russians Value Competitive Elections or Freedom of Religion or Speech, Pew Research Reports

Screenshot of Video at https://twitter.com/CurrentTimeTv/status/1171888101989539842 showing man punching another man in the stomach at Russian polling place while second man was looking down at mobile device

(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble) Staunton – Only 40 percent of Russians value competitive elections and only 23 percent consider it important that opposition parties can operate freely, according to a conducted by Pew Research (pewresearch.org/global/2020/02/27/democratic-rights-popular-globally-but-commitment-to-them-not-always-strong/ in newtimes.ru/articles/detail/191401?fcc). The Russian figures in this regard are significantly lower than in most of the other countries surveyed, but what is particularly […]

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RUSSIALINK: “Russians See Pollution as a Greater Threat Than Terrorism – Poll” – Moscow Times

File Photo of Smokestacking Spewing Cloud of Discharge

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – January 23, 2020) [Photo caption in original: Nationwide protests rocked Russia in 2019 over unpopular plans to build landfills in remote parts of the country to take in waste from more populous areas.Sergei Bobylev / TASS] Russians believe that environmental pollution poses a greater threat to humanity than terrorism, according to the results of an […]

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One In Five Russians ‘Willing To Participate In Political Protests’

Nemtsov March of Mourning

(Article text ©2019 RFE/RL, Inc., Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty – rferl.org – Dec. 2, 2019 – article text also appeared at rferl.org/a/one-in-five-russians-willing-to-participate-in-political-protests-/30303179.html) One in five Russians are willing to take part in mass political demonstrations, a new poll shows, in a sign of continued discontent with the country’s leaders after a summer marked by demonstrations. The poll by the Levada […]

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RUSSIALINK: “Russia’s Domestic Violence Problem Is ‘Exaggerated,’ Justice Ministry Says” – Moscow Times

File Photos of Law Books and Gavel, adapted from image at fjc.gov

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Nov. 19, 2019) The Russian government doesn’t see domestic violence as a “serious problem” and believes that its scale is exaggerated, the country’s Justice Ministry said in an official response to Europe’s human rights court obtained by the Kommersant business daily. The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) this summer had asked Russia to respond […]

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RUSSIALINK: “Russians Increasingly Value Free Speech, Civil Rights – Poll” – Moscow Times

Russia Map

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Nov. 20, 2019) The share of Russians who view free speech, the right to a fair trial and other civil rights as important freedoms has increased by double digits in two years, according to the independent Levada Center pollster. Experts and sociologists link the double-digit growth in the importance of civil rights issues among Russians […]

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RUSSIALINK: “Russians’ Apathy Toward Trump Hits Record High – Poll” – Moscow Times

File Photo of Donald Trump and Putin Standing Side-by-Side at Helsinki Summit, adapted from image at whitehouse.gov

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Nov. 18, 2019) Russians’ indifference toward U.S. President Donald Trump has reached an all-time high, according to a state-run survey published Monday. Russian lawmakers greeted Trump’s victory in 2016 with thunderous applause and a majority of Russian citizens predicted he would make a competent president when he took office. While Trump ran for office on […]

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RUSSIALINK: “Chechnya Outperforms Kremlin’s KPIs Nationwide – Reports” – Moscow Times

Caucasus Map of Chechnya and Caucasus Environs

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Nov. 12, 2019) Russia’s republic of Chechnya has the highest trust ratings toward its leaders and President Vladimir Putin among all regions, Russian media reported Monday. The Kremlin closely monitors Putin’s trust ratings, which dipped to historic lows then quickly bounced back after the Kremlin challenged state pollsters’ methodologies. Its domestic policy curator Sergei Kiriyenko […]

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RUSSIALINK: “Most Russians Want ‘Decisive’ Change – Study” – Moscow Times

Aerial View of Kremlin and Environs

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – November 6, 2019) The share of Russians who say the country needs sweeping changes has grown to 59% this year, according to new research from the Carnegie Moscow Center and the independent Levada Center pollster cited by the Vedomosti newspaper Wednesday. [vedomosti.ru/politics/articles/2019/11/05/815494-pochti-60-rossiyan] “There’s increasing dissatisfaction with the work of the state,” Vedomosti quoted Levada sociologist […]

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Kagarlitsky Surprised Only One Russian in Four Considers Himself a Victim of Perestroika

Kremlin and River

(Paul Goble – Window on Eurasia – Staunton, October 21, 2019) Left-wing sociologist Boris Kagarslitsky says he is surprised by VTsIOM’s finding that only 25 percent of Russians consider themselves “victims of perestroika,” with the number ranging from 37 percent among those 60 and over down to eight percent among those aged 18 to 24. In his view, Kagarlitsky says, […]

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RUSSIALINK: “Almost 40% of Russians Call Moscow Protest Convictions ‘Politically Motivated’ – Poll” – Moscow Times/ Levada Center

File Photos of Law Books and Gavel, adapted from image at fjc.gov

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Oct. 9, 2019) Nearly 40% of Russians believe that the recent criminal convictions of more than a dozen people over this summer’s Moscow protests were politically motivated, according to new independent polling. The Sept. 8 local and regional elections were among the most remembered events of the past month, according to the independent Levada Center […]

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Russians Less Concerned about Economic Problems and More about Political Ones, Levada Center Poll Shows

Aerial View of Kremlin and Environs

(Paul Goble – Window on Eurasia – Staunton, September 25. 2019) In a development that may reflect coverage of the Moscow protests but that could point to a broader sea change in Russian attitudes in a direction that challenges the authorities, a new Levada Center poll conducted in August finds that Russians are less concerned about economic issues than they […]

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Russians Learn about Protests from State TV but No Longer Accept Official Explanations, Levada Poll Finds

Aerial View of Kremlin and Environs

(Paul Goble – Window on Eurasia – Staunton, September 3, 2019) The most significant finding of a new Levada Center poll released today is that most Russians continue to get their news about demonstrations from the official media rather than the Internet but no longer accept the government’s explanations about what is going on and why. That suggests that there […]

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RUSSIALINK: “Most Russians Don’t Believe ‘Western Meddling’ Is to Blame for Moscow Protests, Poll Says” – Moscow Times

Aerial View of Kremlin and Environs

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – September 3, 2019) A majority of Russians don’t believe in the authorities’ claim that Western powers are to blame for election protests in Moscow this summer, according to the independent Levada Center polling agency. Weeks of demonstrations over elections for the city legislature have turned into the biggest sustained protest movement in Russia since 2011-2013. […]

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‘Russians Fully Reconciled to Capitalism’ and Don’t Want Socialism Back, Shelin Says

Cash, Calculator, Pen

(Paul Goble – Window on Eurasia – Staunton, August 21, 2019) Despite all the talk about a revival of socialism in the face of stagnation, Sergey Shelin says, “Russians are fully reconciled to capitalism, consider it completely practicable, and do not want even to think about the socialist past,” a fundamental transformation of Russian values over the last 30 years. […]

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Influence of Moscow TV Declining But Working Overtime against Russia, Panov Says

Adapted File Photo of TV Set in Russia with Camera, Camerman, Woman on Set in Background

(Paul Goble – Window of Eurasia – Staunton, August 14, 2019) Two weeks ago, the Levada Center issued a report suggesting that the influence of Moscow television on younger Russians is declining at a precipitous rate, thus depriving the Kremlin of one of its most reliable means of influencing Russian public opinion (levada.ru/2019/08/01/21088/). But now a Russian commentator, Valery Panov, […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Russia’s Levada and VTsIOM polls dramatically disagree on sentiment over the Moscow protests” – bne Intellinews/ Ben Aris

Kremlin and River

“… results of a poll by independent pollster the Levada Center violently disagreed with a poll by the state-owned pollster, the Russian Public Opinion Research Centre (VTsIOM), on the reaction to the weekend protests over the upcoming city council elections. Levada found that 37% of Muscovite supported the protests, 27% viewed them negatively and 30% were neutral. … a VTsIOM […]

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Russians’ Trust in TV News Falls 25% in 10 Years – Report

Adapted File Photo of TV Set in Russia with Camera, Camerman, Woman on Set in Background

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – August 1, 2019) Russians’ trust in television news as a news source dropped by 25% in the past decade, according to the independent Levada Center pollster’s latest report on the national media landscape. Television remains the biggest news source for Russians despite becoming less trusted over the past decade, past Levada polling has said. Trust […]

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RUSSIALINK: “1 in 4 Russians Are Seeing Their Wallets Shrink – Poll” – Moscow Times

Hands Opening Envelope Containing Cash

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – July 31, 2019) Almost a quarter of Russians say they have felt their finances dwindle in recent months, according to a survey by the state-run Foundation of Public Opinion (FOM) pollster. Real incomes have declined in the past five years in Russia against the backdrop of Western sanctions and falling oil prices. As he took […]

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RUSSIALINK: “Russians’ Fear of Chernobyl Repeat Hits Record Low, Poll Says” – Moscow Times

Chernobyl File Photo

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – July 17, 2019) Fewer Russians believe that a Chernobyl-like nuclear disaster could happen now than at any point in the past two decades, according to an independent Levada Center poll published Wednesday. The April 1986 explosion at the Chernobyl power plant in Soviet Ukraine spread radioactive material across much of the Northern Hemisphere, affecting tens […]

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RUSSIALINK: “Russians’ Belief in Aliens, Magic and Superstition Plummets – Poll” – Moscow Times

Kremlin and Saint Basil's File Photo

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – July 2, 2019) Russians are less likely to believe in the power of magic or the supernatural today than they were at any point in the past three decades, according to a state-funded survey published Tuesday. Largely suppressed during Soviet times, pseudoscientific beliefs saw a resurgence in Russian society with the popularity of reality TV […]

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RUSSIALINK: “Russians Are Losing Interest in Foreign Policy, Poll Says” – Moscow Times

Satellite

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – June 21, 2019) Less than half of Russians pay attention to foreign policy issues, according to a new poll by the state-run Foundation of Public Opinion (FOM) pollster. Polling in recent years has suggested Russians are becoming less focused on endeavors abroad as the economy stagnates and living standards fall. In the FOM poll published […]

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RUSSIALINK: “Most Russians Say Soviet Union ‘Took Care of Ordinary People’ – Poll” – Moscow Times

Kremlin and Saint Basil's File Photo

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – June 24, 2019) A majority of Russians believe that the Soviet system took care of the common man and woman, according to a recent poll by the independent Levada Center pollster. Russia has seen an upward trend in positive opinions about the Soviet Union in recent years, with nostalgia toward it hitting a 14-year high […]

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RUSSIALINK: “Half of Russians Are Worried About the Environment Where They Live – Survey” – Moscow Times

Russian Landfill; adapted from image at epa.gov

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – June 5, 2019) Almost half of Russians are concerned about the environment in their regions, according to a study by the Moscow-based NAFI Research Center obtained by the state-run TASS news agency. Environmental issues have taken center stage at protest rallies across Russia over the past year, with citizens drawing attention to concerns including landfills, […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Russians’ trust in Putin has plummeted. But that’s not the Kremlin’s only problem. The real bad news is that, increasingly, Russians are refusing to answer the survey question at all.” – Washington Post/ Samuel A. Greene

Vladimir Putin

“According to … Russia[] … polling agenc[y] [WCIOM], trust in [Putin] has fallen to an all-time low … 31.7 percent. … [T]he economy struggles … real disposable incomes look set to decline for the sixth straight year[;] the bloom is very much off the Crimean rose. After some [Kremlin] consternation … the same agency released a new survey using a […]

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75 Percent of Residents of Major Russian Cities Use Internet Every Day; Only 70 Percent Watch TV that Often

File Image of Laptop Computer, Tables and Mobile Device, adapted from image at energy.gov

(Paul Goble – Window on Eurasia – Staunton, May 29, 2019) In the first quarter, Mediascope found, 75 percent of residents of major Russian cities turned to the Internet at least once a day, while only 70.4 percent of this category watched television, the first time Internet has outpaced television in Russia this way and something that will have major […]

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RUSSIALINK: “Kremlin Asks Specialists to Explain Putin’s Falling Trust Ratings” – Moscow Times

Vladimir Putin File Photo, Cropped Screenshot from Video at kremlin.ru

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – May 30, 2019) Russian sociologists should explain President Vladimir Putin’s record-low trust levels amid his growing approval ratings, the Kremlin said on Thursday. A recent state-funded survey said that public trust in Putin has dropped to its lowest level since 2006. The same survey showed Putin’s approval rating grow from 61 percent in January to […]

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Public Opinion Paradoxes? Russians Are Increasingly Dubious About the Costs of Putin’s Foreign Policies

Map of Commonwealth of Independent States, European Portion

(PONARS Eurasia – Harley Balzer – May 20, 2019) Harley Balzer is Professor Emeritus of Government and International Affairs, and founding Director, Center for Eurasian, Russian and East European Studies, at Georgetown University. (PONARS Eurasia Policy Memo) Recent survey and focus group data indicate that Russians increasingly are questioning whether some of President Vladimir Putin’s policies are worth the price […]

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Attitudes of Young Russians Changing Rapidly and in Contradictory Ways, New Surveys Show

Map of Russia and Russian Flag adapted from images at state.gov

(Paul Goble – Window on Eurasia – Staunton, May 17, 2019) Three new surveys show that the attitudes young Russians have about a wide variety of issues are changing rapidly and in internally inconsistent ways, something Stoletie commentator Andrey Sokolov says is worrisome because it means they lack a systematic worldview on the basis of which Russia’s future depends. The […]

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JRL RUSSIAWATCH: “Who Russians Think Will Succeed Putin in 2024; Studies show that the Russian public doesn’t believe they will have a say in the future of their country.” – Moscow Times/ Denis Volkov

File Photo of Vladimir Putin at Podium with United Russia Logo, Gesturing

“Most Russians think little about the future, possess only a passing knowledge of the political calendar and would have difficulty naming the date of the next presidential election. … [Asking] focus groups consisting of Muscovites of differing ages as well as attitudes towards Putin …. [resulted in] pro- and anti-Putin participants mainly discuss[ing] two post-election scenarios: 1) [Putin] remains at […]

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‘Does Russia Really Need a Victory Parade Every Year?’

File Photo of Close-Up of Line of Russian Soldiers in Dress Uniforms for Parade, adapted from image at georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov with credit to Eric Draper

(Paul Goble – Window on Eurasia – Staunton, May 7, 2019) Sometimes to ask a question is to answer it even if the answer is different than one intends. That appears to be the case with a Russian nationalist who asks, “Does Russia really need a Victory Parade every year?” His answer is an unabashed affirmative, but others clearly don’t […]

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What Makes Putin Putin?

File Photo of Vladimir Putin at Podium with United Russia Logo, Gesturing

(PONARS Eurasia – May 3, 2019 – Samuel Greene, Graeme Robertson – ponarseurasia.org/point-counter/article/what-makes-putin-putin) Samuel Greene is Director of the Russia Institute and Senior Lecturer in Russian Politics at King’s College London. Graeme Robertson is Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. The co-construction of Russian authoritarianism, say Samuel Greene and Graeme Robertson in […]

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RUSSIALINK: “3% of Russians Trust Officials’ Income Declarations – Poll” – Moscow Times

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – May 7, 2019) Only 3 percent of Russians believe that government officials submit trustworthy income declarations every year, according to an independent Levada Center survey. The 2018 declaration showed President Vladimir Putin earning 8.6 million rubles ($134,000), or less than half of what he earned in 2017. Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev’s yearly pay rose to […]

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R.I.P “Soviet Man”: Scrapping Homo sovieticus in the Spirit of Yuri Levada

Aerial View of Kremlin and Environs

(Kennan Institute – wilsoncenter.org/program/kennan-institute – Gulnaz Sharafutdinova – April 29, 2019 – wilsoncenter.org/blog-post/rip-soviet-man-scrapping-homo-sovieticus-the-spirit-yuri-levada) Gulnaz Sharafutdinova is a Reader at King’s Russia Institute (King’s College London). “Soviet man is a servile double-thinker with no morality.” “Soviet man is being reproduced in modern-day Russia.” These two messages have occupied a prime position in the Levada Center’s communications over the past two decades […]

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Record Numbers of Russians Have Positive View of Stalin, Levada Center Finds

File Photo of Soviet Gulag at Belbaltlag, adapted from image at nps.gov

(Paul Goble – Window on Eurasia – Staunton, April 16, 2019) On the centenary of the establishment of the GULAG that he did so much to expand (kasparov.ru/material.php?id=5CB56680ECD4C), the Levada Center polling agency released the results of a survey showing 70 percent of Russians have a positive attitude toward the Soviet dictator, the highest share ever (rbc.ru/politics/16/04/2019/5cb0bb979a794780a4592d0c). Not surprisingly, this […]

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RUSSIALINK: “Most Russians Prefer Council of Europe Membership – Polls” – Moscow Times

File Photo of Council of Europe Headquarters Building with Flags in Front

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – April 8, 2019) A majority of Russians support their country’s membership in the Council of Europe (CoE) human rights watchdog, according to two surveys published Monday. Russia was suspended from the CoE parliamentary assembly in 2014 in protest of Moscow’s behavior toward Ukraine and the annexation of Crimea. In response, Russia halted annual payments to […]

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Gallup Poll Shows One In Five Russians Would Migrate West If Possible

Satellite Image of Earth in Style of Mercator Map, adapted from image at nasa.gov

(Article text ©2019 RFE/RL, Inc., Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty – rferl.org – April 4, 2019 – article text also appeared at rferl.org/a/russian-migrate-west-gallup-poll-one-in-five/29861985.html) One in five Russians say they would leave their country if they could, according to a new poll by Gallup. The Washington-based pollster said on April 4 that since 2014, the percentage of working-age Russians who say they […]

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RUSSIALINK: “Share of Russians Predicting Better Ties With the West Hits 5-Year High – Poll” – Moscow Times

File Photo of G7 Leaders and other Officials Around Round Table at the Hague, with Flags

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – April 1, 2019) The number of Russians forecasting improved relations between their country and the West has reached a five-year high, the independent Levada Center pollster said Monday. Public support for Russia’s annexation of Crimea from Ukraine has remained in the high 80s in the Levada poll since 2014, despite it leading to economic sanctions […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Putin needs more than spending to lift ratings; Five years after Crimea was annexed, Russian discontent is rumbling” – Financial Times Editorial

File Photo of Kremlin Tower, St. Basil's, Red Square at Night

“… exactly five years after … annexing Crimea, trust in the [Russian] president has dropped to a 13-year low. The economy is stagnating. While his state of the nation address this week ended with habitual nuclear sabre-rattling, much was devoted to spending pledges aimed at burnishing his image. It is far from clear that such social bribery will work. … […]

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RUSSIALINK: “Having an Honest Business Is Not Possible in Russia, Majority Says” – Moscow Times

Men Sitting Around Long Oval Boardroom Table, File Photo of FIFA Officials Meeting with Vladmir Putin

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – February 20, 2019) A majority of Russians say that doing business in the country without breaking a few rules is impossible, according to a newly released state-funded survey. The poll was carried out a day after Michael Calvey, a U.S. citizen and one of the biggest private equity investors in Russia, was detained on suspicion […]

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RUSSIALINK: “Some 70% of Ukrainians approve possible compromises with Russia, DPR, LPR for sake of peace – poll” – Interfax

Map of Ukraine, Including Crimea, and Neighbors, Including Russia

KYIV. Feb 13 (Interfax) – Seventy-two percent of Ukrainians believe that there is a war between Ukraine and Russia, while 15% disagree, according to a nationwide opinion poll conducted by the Ilko Kucheriv Democratic Initiatives Foundation and the Razumkov Center and a regional survey conducted in the districts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions controlled by Kyiv. Thirty-nine percent of […]

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U.S. Power, Influence Seen as Greater Threat than Russia, China

Satellite Image of Earth in Style of Mercator Map, adapted from image at nasa.gov

(Voice of America – voanews.com – February 11, 2019 – Jeff Seldin – voanews.com/a/us-power-influence-seen-as-greater-threat-than-russia-china/4782226.html) More people around the world worry about the threat posed by the United States’ use of power and influence than they do about similar threats from Russia or China. The finding, part of Pew Research Center’s Spring 2018 Global Attitudes Survey, found a median of 45 […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Trust in Putin slides to 13-year low of 33.4% in January” – bne Intellinews

File Photo of Vladimir Putin at Podium with United Russia Logo, Gesturing

“Trust in … Putin fell to a 13 year low in the first poll of 2019 by the state owned pollster, the Russian Public Opinion Research Centre (VTsIOM), slipping from 36.5% on December 29 to 33.4% on January 13. … Putin’s lowest popularity … since … 2006. Even during the mass protests of December 2011 following a rigged Duma election […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Russians are ashamed of the ‘eternal poverty’ of their country” – bne Intellinews

File Photo of Kremlin Aerial View, adapted from .gov source

“… The collapse of the Soviet Union and the loss of superpower status was … humiliating … Putin has played on [that] with actions like the annexation of Crimea and the war in Syria, to restore some sense of national pride. However, a … Levada Center [poll] this month found that Russians continue to be ashamed of their ‘eternal poverty’ […]

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RUSSIALINK: “Russians spent more in 2018, set to cut expenses – poll” – Interfax/ Romir Research Holding

Diverse Paper Currency, Coins, Line Graph

MOSCOW. Jan 16 (Interfax) – A quarter of Russians are not planning big purchases within the next six months, according to a report of the Romir Research Holding. Russians are planning to significantly cut expenses on clothes, healthcare, vacations, and smartphones, Romir said. “Certain types of expenses are hard to plan and carry out precisely. These include healthcare, car repairs, […]

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RUSSIALINK: “Holiday spending in Russia dips slightly year-on-year – poll” – Interfax

New Year's Eve on Red Square with Fireworks, Kremlin, Saint Basil's, Crowds

MOSCOW. Jan 14 (Interfax) – Russians spent an average of 13,870 rubles this holiday season, slightly less than in 2018 (14,195 rubles), the Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VCIOM) said on Monday. “Actual spending generally coincided with the amount planned in late December (13,755 rubles). About 5,375 rubles were spent on gifts for family and friends, 4,592 rubles on New […]

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Only Three Percent of Young Russians Want to Work in Private Sector, Study Finds

File Photo of Empty Chair and Desk with Computer, adapted from image at osha.gov

(Paul Goble – Window on Eurasia – Staunton, December 30, 2019) Only three percent of young Russians want to work in the private sector with more than 60 percent saying they would prefer the stability offered by employment in major companies linked to the government or even the government itself, according to a new sociological study of young people in […]

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Soviet Sentimentality: Russians’ Regret At U.S.S.R.’s Collapse Hits 14-Year High

Kremlin and Saint Basil's File Photo

(Article ©2018 RFE/RL, Inc., Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty – rferl.org – Dec. 19, 2018 – article also appeared at rferl.org/a/russian-regret-at-soviet-collapse-stands-at-14-year-high-poll-shows/29664759.html) More Russians regret the breakup of the Soviet Union than at any other time since 2004, an opinion poll shows. In a survey whose results were published on December 19, two-thirds — or 66 percent — of respondents answered “yes” […]

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Moscow Said Using Polls to Prepare Russians for Giving the Kuriles Back to Japan

Map of Northern Japan, Kurill Islands, Sea of Okhotsk, Portions of Russian Far East

(Paul Goble – Window on Eurasia – Staunton, November 30, 2018) Seventeen percent of Russians are now ready to support the handing back to Japan of some of the Kurile Islands, up from only four to eight percent a decade or more above. This trend suggests, Yevgeny Rychkov of Nakanune says, “the powers that be using polls to prepare” Russians […]

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Political Polls in Russia are Useful but They are Being Misused, Shelin Says

File Photo of Kremlin Tower, St. Basil's, Red Square at Night

(Paul Goble – Window on Eurasia – Staunton, December 1, 2018) The commentariat in Russia and the West have given enormous attention to relatively small changes in the ratings of Vladimir Putin and other Russian officials, without asking some of the fundamental questions about these numbers that are necessary to make the numbers useful, according to Sergey Shelin. The Rosbalt […]

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Nearly Two-Thirds of Russians Say Putin Responsible for Problems in Their Country, Levada Center Poll Says

Putin Descending a Staircase

(Paul Goble – Window on Eurasia – Staunton, November 22, 2018) Sixty-one percent of Russians polled by the Levada Center say that Vladimir Putin is responsible for the problems Russia now faces, up from 55 percent a year ago and the highest figure since such questions began to be asked a decade ago in the wake of the 2008 economic […]

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