Results of our studies

IN BRIEF

Paris shootings were caused by ineffective migration policies of the French government and improper behavior of the Charlie Hebdo journalists.

MOSCOW, January 26, 2015. Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VCIOM) presents the results of the survey describing how many Russians are aware of the terrorist attack on the French weekly newspaper Charlie Hebdo as well as what they think was the reason behind the shootings. 

Seventy-four percent of Russians are aware of what happened in the offices of the Charlie Hebdo weekly newspaper on January 7th. Twenty-three percent of Rusians have seen the Prophet Muhammad cartoons  that were published before the shooting; 51% of Russians heard about the terrorist attack but did not see any cartoons. Ninety percent of residents of Moscow and St.Petersburg are informed about the tragedy.

The major reasons behind the Charlie Hebdo attack are insulting Muslim religious feelings (30%) and soft mass media policies of the French authorities that allow them insulting the believers (25%). Eleven percent of Russians oppose them stating that the main cause is that the French authorities allow immigrants to enter the country and this creates a huge flow of immigrants. Eight percent believe that the tragedy happened because of the cruelty of the Muslim extremists; 6% mention poor work of the French police and security services.

An overwhelming majority of respondents (87%) condemn the armed attack on the editorial and the killings of the journalists; at the same time, 39% say that they can understand why this happened; 48% fail to explain the reason behind the tragedy.  

The VCIOM opinion poll was conducted on January 17-18, 2015. 1600 respondents were interviewed in 132 communities in 46 regions of Russia. The margin of error does not exceed 3,5%.

Last week the French weekly newspaper published the cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed that provoked the attacks on the offices of the newspaper; several journalists were killed. Have you heard about it/have you seen the cartoons? (close-ended question, one answer)

 

Total respondents

Moscow and St.Petersburg

Million cities

More than 500 ths

100–500 ths

Less than 100 ths

Rural area

Yes, I heard about it  and I have seen the cartoons

23

21

21

22

25

18

27

Yes, I know what happened but I have not seen the cartoons

51

69

43

36

48

54

50

I know nothing about it

22

5

35

38

23

23

19

 Don`t know

4

5

1

4

3

4

4

In your opinion, what is the basic reason behind the shooting?

(close-ended question, one answer, % of those who know what happened)

 

Total respondents

A Just Russia party

Supporters of LDPR

Supporters of CPRF

Supporters of United Russia party

Supporters of non-parliament parties

I would not take part in elections

French journalists who insulted Muslim religious values

30

23

22

33

33

24

29

Policies of the French government that allows journalists insulting religious values

25

35

16

19

27

20

24

Policies of the French government that allows Muslims entering the country

11

10

25

13

9

12

11

Several extremist Muslims whose response to these cartoons was violence

8

6

8

8

7

8

9

Poor work of French police and security services

6

13

6

7

6

4

7

Politics of the self-proclaimed Islamic State; hatred of the Islamic extremists towards secular society and freedom of speech  

5

3

12

2

5

12

6

Other

3

<1

2

6

2

8

3

 Don`t know

12

10

10

11

12

12

11

What are your attitudes towards people who attacked the French weekly newspaper`s office?

(close-ended question, one answer, % of those who know what happened)

 

Total respondents

Aged 18-24

Aged 25-34

Aged 35-44

Aged 45-59

60 and over

I do not understand and do not appreciate such actions

48

43

47

45

49

54

I do not approve of them  but I understand the reasons behind it

39

38

41

42

40

35

I understand and approve of the actions of such people

5

10

5

5

3

3

 Don`t know

8

9

7

8

8

8

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!

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