Poll: Only 14% of Belarusians ready to take up arms against enemies

02.07.201413:33

The Independent Institute of Socio-Economic and Political Studies has published results of the June nation opinion poll. Over 60% of respondents did not approve of Kyiv’s Euromaidan and Viktor Yanukovych’s overthrow while just as many people regarded Crimea’s seceding from Ukraine as legal.

Shadows of Ukraine’s revolution

Taking into account further developments in Ukraine, 23.2 % of interviewees favoured Euromaidan and Yanukovych’s ouster and 63.2% were against. 26.9% of respondents hold Crimea’s joining Russia as ‘occupation’ but 62.2% believe it to be an act of ‘putting the historical record straight’.

23.2% called the recent events in the east of Ukraine ‘riots organised by Russia’ while 65.5% regarded them as ‘the people’s protests against the illegitimate authorities’.

12% of Belarusians favour the newly-elected President Poroshenko, 36% remain aloof about him, 21.1% don’t like him, 15% refuse to consider his legitimacy.

No Russian threat

According to one third of respondents, Russia is highly unlikely to annex the territory of Belarus or its part, 36.4% believe it to be ‘possible but improbable’, 26.3% think that the probability is strong, 4.4% say the annexation is inevitable.

At the same time, the Belarusians are not ready to follow either President Lukashenka or his political opponents in case of any threat of the country’s territorial integrity.

Only 14.2% declared readiness to bear arms against invaders, 47.7% would try to adapt to a situation, 16.5% would even ‘welcome such change’.

Being asked ‘Does our nation, our country have enemies?’ only 12.8% answered that Belarus was ‘surrounded by enemies’ while 30% believe that the country’s most dangerous enemies are ‘from within’.