Russians Unfazed by Nudists But Outraged by Transsexuals, Poll Shows

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – June 23, 2014) While a majority of Russians feel a sense of outrage toward transsexuals, most could not care less about nudists, a somewhat questionable poll concludes.

The poll, published Monday by independent pollster Levada Center – presumably testing Russians’ attitudes to non-traditional behavior – showed roughly equal numbers of Russians feel indignation toward transsexuals as indifference to nudists, with 36 percent and 33 percent respectively.

A small portion of respondents said they were sympathetic to both groups, with 4 percent saying they were affable toward nudists and 2 percent saying so about transsexuals. A slightly larger number expressed a general sentiment of tolerance, with 8 percent saying they were completely tolerant toward nudists and 6 percent of transsexuals.

Those between the ages of 18 and 24 and those with a higher education proved to be more tolerant of both groups, with respondents 55 or older making up the bulk of those who rejected both nudists and transsexuals.

Older Russians also represented the voice of indignation toward transsexuals, with two age groups – 40-54 years of age and 55 years and older – comprising the majority of those who expressed a negative attitude.

Men and women were mostly on the same page in their responses, though more women expressed a sense of outrage toward transsexuals compared to men.

The poll was conducted from May 23-26 among 1,600 people aged 18 and over in 130 cities across 45 regions of the country. The margin of error did not exceed 3.4 percent.