Russians are confident that Russia is facing more threats today but its army is ready to protect the population.

MOSCOW, February 20, 2015. Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VCIOM) presents the data concerning the attitudes of Russians towards the following questions: Is there any threat to Russia today? What is the current situation in the Russian army? Do Russians want their friends and relatives to serve in the army?  

Today more Russians have felt the external military threat than it was fifteen years ago: the index* has increased fourfold over a year (from 10 p. in 2014 to 40 p. in 2015) and reached its historical maximum. Two-thirds of Russians think so (68%; 52% a year ago). Twenty-eight percent of respondents doubt that there is any external military threat, which is 1.5 times less than it was in 2014   (42%).

At the same time, more Russians assess the current state of the Russian army positively; the indicator showing public attitudes towards this question** has reached 81 p. (62 p. in 2014) which is a new record. The share of positive assessments has doubled: whereas every fourth Russian assessed the situation in the army as “good” a year ago (24%), today every second person thinks so (49%). Simultaneously, the number of negative assessments has declined from 14% to 6%. Forty percent of Russians are satisfied with the situation in the army.

Russians have ambiguity attitudes towards the question whether the size of the army should be enlarged. Forty percent of respondents believe that the capacity of the armed forces should be extended (30% in 2014) which is the highest record over the entire period of measurement. Forty-two percent of respondents do not think that the size of the army should be increased. Only 7% of Russians think that the size should be reduced.

Today Russians regard the military service as less attractive than it was a year or two ago; the index*** has lost 12 points (since 2013-214) and has approached zero. Whereas half of Russians (47%) want their brothers/sons/husbands to serve in the Russian armed forces (56% of men and 39% of women), the orther part (47%) do not want it.

*Military threat index shows the subjective opinion concerning the possible military theats to Russia. The index is based  on the question “In your opinion, is there any military threat to Russia coming from other states?”. The index is calcualted as a difference between positive and negative assessments. The value of index can vary between -100 and 100 points. The higher the value of index is, the more Russians are confident that something threatens Russia

**Army situation index shows the subjective opinion concerning the curent situaiton in the Russian army.  The index is based  on the question "How would you assess the current situation in the Russian army?”. The index is calcualted as a difference of the sum of  positive and average assessments and the sum of negative assessments. The value of index can vary between -100 and 100 points. The higher the value of index is, the more positve Russians are about the situation in the Russian army.

***Army attractiveness index shows the Russians attotudes wothds the military service. The index is based  on the question  “Would you like your son/brother/husband/close relative to serve in the army today?” The index is calcualted as a difference between positive and negative assessments. The value of index can vary between -100 and 100 points. The higher the value of index is, the better Russian attitudes towards military service are.

The VCIOM opinion poll was conducted on February 14-15, 2015; 1600 respondents were interviewed in 132 communities in 46 regions of Russia. The margin of error does not exceed 3.5%.

‘Until 2010, the question was “Today more than one million one hundred persons serve in the army. In your opinion, how big should Russian army be?”

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