More than two-thirds of Lithuanian residents see Russia as the most hostile neighboring state, according to a poll published by online news portal delfi.lt on Monday.
According to the survey, 72.5 percent of respondents thought Russia was hostile. Poland was listed as the second-most hostile country among respondents (26.8 percent), though 12.6 percent of those polled said Poland was a friendly state. Belarus came in third with 19.1 percent of respondents. A much smaller percentage of participants listed Nordic countries or Baltic countries as hostile neighbors (2.8 percent and 1.2 percent, respectively).
The majority of those who listed Russia as the most hostile neighbor were over the age of 36, with middle class incomes or higher, and tended to live in district centers and rural areas.
Those that rated Poland as the most hostile were residents of the largest cities over the age of 45.
In the poll, respondents were also asked to specify countries friendly towards Lithuania. According to the survey, the absolute majority of those polled (71.4 percent) see the Baltic states of Latvia and Estonia as friendly.
The second friendliest countries include the Nordic states – Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland, listed by 46.5 percent of respondents.
The poll was carried out by Spinter Tyrimai (Spinter Surveys) public opinion and market research company from 23-29 April.
