A lot of Russians believe that the feelings of believers are more important than freedom of speech, a survey conducted by the Russian Public Opinion Research Center (WCIOM).
68% of respondents think that one should be guided primarily by the principles of political correctness and politeness, not by the right to freely express opinions while 27% of Russians do not favor such position.
About 5% have faced violation od believers’ feelings, the survey says.
The interviewees consider certain statements about believers (11%), derisions (5%), desecration of holy places (4%) and cartoons (3%) as mockery of religious beliefs.
Since 2013, hurting feelings of believers has been a crime in Russia. The recent row blew out in March 2015 in the city of Novosibirsk where the Russian Orthodox church expessed outrage at a production of Wagner’s opera Tannhäuser.
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