More than one-third of Russians consider that the US-Russia relations will improve after the Putin’s meeting with Trump.  

MOSCOW, July 23, 2018. Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VCIOM) presents the data of a survey devoted to the study of Russian-U.S. relations, the Putin-Trump meeting at the Helsinki Summit.

On July 16 in Helsinki, Vladimir Putin met Donald Trump; 83% of Russians are aware of this meeting. Every second respondent (48%) considers that the bilateral relations will not change after the summit; a further 38% think that the relations will improve. Three percent of respondents oppose this opinion.  

After the Summit the Russians view the bilateral relations more positively: the index has gone up by 2 p. (-74 p. for July 5, 2018; -72 p. for July 18, 2018). However, this figure is substantially lower than a year ago (-44 p. in July, 2017). Negative assessments still prevail. Thirty-nine percent of respondents point out tensions in relations; a further 29% consider the relationship “chilly”. Only 1-2% point to good-neighborliness and friendship.

More than half of respondents (54%) think it is important to promote cultural exchanges between the U.S. and Russia. Security cooperation is marked by 55%; political exchanges are mentioned 52%. Every second (50%) thinks Russia should work with the U.S. more to enhance economic cooperation.

Russians view the U.S. as a country that interferes in the affairs of other countries (86%). Three-quarters (75%) perceive the U.S. as an aggressive state; two-thirds (68%) as an influential country. Advanced science (76%) and the democratic character of the country (37%) are its positive features.

Medialogia Company has made a report of media mentions of “Putin”, “Trump” and “Helsinki”. A total number of 53,002 mentions from June 27 through July 19 were found in the Russian media.

*Russia-U.S. Relations Index describes how Russians assess the current state of the bilateral relationship. The Index is based on the question “How would you assess the current U.S.-Russia relationship?” It is calculated as the sum of positive answers (“normal, calm”, “good, good-neighborly”, “friendly”) and negative answers (“chilly”, “tense”, “hostile”), measured in points and can vary between -100 and 100. The higher the index, the better Russians assess the bilateral relationships.

The VCIOM-Sputnik survey was conducted on July 18, 2018, and involved 1,600 Russians aged 18 and over. The survey was telephone-based and was carried out using stratified dual-frame random sample based on a complete list of landline and mobile phone numbers operating in Russia. The data were weighted according to selection probability and social and demographic characteristics. The margin of error at a 95% confidence level does not exceed 2.5%. In addition to sampling error, minor changes in question wording and different circumstances arising during the fieldwork can introduce bias into the survey.

The 2014 results are based on household survey.

Russian media monitoring and analysis were carried out by Medialogia Company and involve “Putin”, “Trump” and “Helsinki” mentions from June 27 through July 19 (more than 45,000 sources).

Note: Using materials from the site www.wciom.ru or wciom.com, as well as distributed by VCIOM, the reference to the source (or hyperlink for the electronic media) is obligatory! The use of the Medialogia system content, fully or partially, must be accompanied by the reference to the Medialogia Company.