“Levada-Center” surveyed if the Russians consider Belarus and Ukraine foreign states, and how they assess their country’s relations with the West.
According to a survey, 67% of Russians do not consider Belarus a foreign land. Two years ago, this opinion was held by 63% of Russians. In the case of Ukraine, 59% of Russians said they did not believe it to be a foreign country.
Three quarters of Russians believe that the major Western powers — Germany, Britain and the US — are the rivals of Russia, which “seek to solve their problems at Russia’s expense and if possible would hinder its interests.”
Only a tenth of the people in Russia believe that Western democracy suits their country, but in 2008 the figure was 8%, in 2014 – 5% 0. 46% of Russians said that democracy “suited Russia, but it requires significant changes related to the peculiarities of our country.” 46% do think that western democracy is detrimental for Russia.
The study was conducted in on 2-5 October 2015 among 1,600 adults in 134 Russian settlements. The authors argue that the margin of error is 3.4%.
