Russia’s International Reputation Hits 9-Year Low, Poll Shows

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – June 5, 2014) Russia’s global reputation has deteriorated markedly in the past year, according to the results of a poll published Wednesday.

Across 23 countries, 45 percent of respondents viewed Russia in a negative light, according to a survey commissioned by the BBC World Service and conducted by consulting firm GlobeScan/Pipa. Negative views of Russia increased four percent over last year while positive views increased 1 percent to 31 percent of those polled.

The three countries where negative views increased the most were Kenya, Spain and Brazil, which each saw jumps of more than 13 percentage points.

Of the countries polled, the populations of only six held the general view that Russia’s influence in the world is “mostly positive.”

These latest results show that negative perceptions of Russia are at their highest point since the poll was first conducted in 2005.

France, the U.S. and Israel were found to foster the least favorable feelings towards Russia, while individuals surveyed in Ghana, China and Russia itself held mostly positive sentiments toward the country.

GlobeScan/Pipa queried 24,542 people between December 2013 and April 2014, asking them to assess the influence of 16 countries and the European Union as “mostly positive” or “mostly negative.”