The Polish people believe that Russia is rather unfriendly state toward Poland; however they recognize that Russians themselves have warmer attitudes toward their country. The same thing can be said about Poland and Poles.
MOSCOW, March 4, 2013. Russian Public Opinion Research Center, Polish Public Opinion Research Center (CBOS) and Grupa IQS would like to present the following information based on the results of the Russia-Poland study conducted in November and December 2012. The study encompasses the public assessment and capacities of Russian-Polish cooperation. The survey concerns the attitudes and perceptions of Poland and Russia by other countries and was made using quantitative polling and focus groups carried out in both countries. The results of the survey were presented at the III International Sociological Conference “Continuing Grushin”.
Among countries mentioned most of Russians regard Belarus (70%), Germany (70%), and China (66%) as the friendliest ones. The countries that are perceived as least friendly by Russians are the U.S. (63%) and Lithuania (59%).
At the same time, Poles recognize the U.S. as being one of the friendliest states towards Poland (68%) after Slovakia (80%), the Czech Republic (79%), France (75%), Great Britain (73%), and Germany (70%). Polish assessments of Belarus are substantially different from the Russian ones: 60% of respondents recognize Belarus as country with the most negative attitudes towards Poland.
As to mutual perceptions, Russians view Polish attitudes towards Poland more positively than the Polish people view Russian attitudes toward Poland. Thus, the opinions of Russian respondents are ambiguous: 39% think the Polish position is friendly, 47% - not. The Polish respondents cite more clear opinion that implies that Russia treats Poland more negatively (70%).
Results of the focus groups conducted in Russia revealed that warm or cool relationships at the state level do not suggest the same at the level of common people: “Basically, attitudes towards a certain state do not refer to any attitudes toward a nation. One of the most important things is whether a person went abroad or not. If the person did not, he/she judges according to what is promoted by the television and mass media”. In the focus group discussions a similar trend is observed: what is emphasized is good and warm attitudes of Russians towards Poles, and that negative perception of Russians can be resulted from wrong interstate relations: “Talking about Russia, everything that we know about Russia is what mass media tells us. This is wrong to think that we and Russians do not like each other; we do love”.
Opinions of the participants of discussions are proved by the quantitative polls showing that ordinary people treat Russia and Poland much warmer than the states they live in. Thus, 65% of Russians believe that Poles are one of the friendless nations towards Russians; only 50% of respondents say the same about Ukrainian attitudes toward Russia. Polish respondents perceive Belarus as a nation that has negative attitudes toward Poland; at the same time, the Belarusians recognize that they are friendly toward Poland (56%). Participants of the survey, both Russians and Poles, cite that the attitudes of common Poles toward Russia and common Russians toward Poland are much more positive than the positions of their states. Forty-nine percent of Russians believe that the Polish residents perceive Poland positively, and 53% of Poles say that Russians are friendly toward their country.
The quantitative survey was conducted by Russian Public Opinion Research Center and Polish Public Opinion Research Center (CBOS) in November and December 2012 in Poland. The total of 1600 Russians and 1036 Poles were polled using the formalized home-based interview.
The qualitative study (focus groups) were conducted by Russian Public Opinion Research Center, Polish Public Opinion Research Center (CBOS) and Grupa IQS in November and December 2012 in Poland. Twelve focus groups (six per each country) were organized. A number of discussions were made with young respondents aged 20-35 and respondents aged 36-55 living in the capitals (Warsaw and Moscow), big cities (Torun and Ekaterinburg), small cities and rural area (Pulawy and Vsevolozhsk).
Could you please assess the attitudes of the leaders of the countries mentioned below towards Russia (friendly or unfriendly)? (close-ended question, one answer per each nation) | Russian poll | Could you please assess the attitudes of the leaders of the countries mentioned below towards Poland (friendly or unfriendly)? (close-ended question, one answer per each nation) | Polish poll |
Poland |
| Poland |
|
Very friendly | 3 | Very friendly | 1 |
Rather friendly | 36 | Rather friendly | 16 |
Rather unfriendly | 39 | Rather unfriendly | 48 |
Absolutely unfriendly | 8 | Absolutely unfriendly | 22 |
Hard to tell | 13 | Hard to tell | 12 |
U.S.A. |
| U.S.A. |
|
Very friendly | 3 | Very friendly | 8 |
Rather friendly | 27 | Rather friendly | 60 |
Rather unfriendly | 47 | Rather unfriendly | 14 |
Absolutely unfriendly | 16 | Absolutely unfriendly | 3 |
Hard to tell | 8 | Hard to tell | 14 |
France |
| France |
|
Very friendly | 5 | Very friendly | 7 |
Rather friendly | 57 | Rather friendly | 68 |
Rather unfriendly | 22 | Rather unfriendly | 8 |
Absolutely unfriendly | 4 | Absolutely unfriendly | 1 |
Hard to tell | 12 | Hard to tell | 16 |
Great Britain |
| Great Britain |
|
Very friendly | 3 | Very friendly | 8 |
Rather friendly | 44 | Rather friendly | 65 |
Rather unfriendly | 30 | Rather unfriendly | 11 |
Absolutely unfriendly | 9 | Absolutely unfriendly | 1 |
Hard to tell | 14 | Hard to tell | 15 |
China |
| China |
|
Very friendly | 9 | Very friendly | 7 |
Rather friendly | 58 | Rather friendly | 45 |
Rather unfriendly | 19 | Rather unfriendly | 11 |
Absolutely unfriendly | 4 | Absolutely unfriendly | 4 |
Hard to tell | 11 | Hard to tell | 36 |
Germany |
| Germany |
|
Very friendly | 8 | Very friendly | 8 |
Rather friendly | 62 | Rather friendly | 62 |
Rather unfriendly | 19 | Rather unfriendly | 15 |
Absolutely unfriendly | 2 | Absolutely unfriendly | 3 |
Hard to tell | 9 | Hard to tell | 12 |
Czeck Republic |
| Czeck Republic |
|
Very friendly | 5 | Very friendly | 13 |
Rather friendly | 56 | Rather friendly | 67 |
Rather unfriendly | 22 | Rather unfriendly | 7 |
Absolutely unfriendly | 2 | Absolutely unfriendly | 1 |
Hard to tell | 15 | Hard to tell | 12 |
Slovak Republic |
| Slovak Republic |
|
Very friendly | 6 | Very friendly | 11 |
Rather friendly | 57 | Rather friendly | 69 |
Rather unfriendly | 20 | Rather unfriendly | 4 |
Absolutely unfriendly | 2 | Absolutely unfriendly | 1 |
Hard to tell | 15 | Hard to tell | 15 |
Ukraine |
| Ukraine |
|
Very friendly | 6 | Very friendly | 4 |
Rather friendly | 44 | Rather friendly | 46 |
Rather unfriendly | 38 | Rather unfriendly | 27 |
Absolutely unfriendly | 5 | Absolutely unfriendly | 5 |
Hard to tell | 7 | Hard to tell | 17 |
Belarus |
| Belarus |
|
Very friendly | 13 | Very friendly | 1 |
Rather friendly | 57 | Rather friendly | 22 |
Rather unfriendly | 20 | Rather unfriendly | 35 |
Absolutely unfriendly | 3 | Absolutely unfriendly | 25 |
Hard to tell | 7 | Hard to tell | 17 |
Lithuania |
| Lithuania |
|
Very friendly | 2 | Very friendly | 4 |
Rather friendly | 29 | Rather friendly | 42 |
Rather unfriendly | 43 | Rather unfriendly | 29 |
Absolutely unfriendly | 16 | Absolutely unfriendly | 7 |
Hard to tell | 10 | Hard to tell | 18 |
Could you please assess the attitudes of ordinary people living in the countries mentioned below toward Russia (friendly or unfriendly)? (close-ended question, one answer per each nation) | Could you please assess the attitudes of ordinary people living in the countries mentioned below toward Poland (friendly or unfriendly)? (close-ended question, one answer per each nation)
| ||
Poles | Russian poll | Russians | Polish poll |
Very friendly | 5 | Very friendly | 5 |
Rather friendly | 44 | Rather friendly | 48 |
Rather unfriendly | 34 | Rather unfriendly | 28 |
Absolutely unfriendly | 7 | Absolutely unfriendly | 6 |
Hard to tell | 11 | Hard to tell | 13 |
Americans |
| Americans |
|
Very friendly | 3 | Very friendly | 10 |
Rather friendly | 39 | Rather friendly | 64 |
Rather unfriendly | 37 | Rather unfriendly | 8 |
Absolutely unfriendly | 10 | Absolutely unfriendly | 1 |
Hard to tell | 10 | Hard to tell | 16 |
Frenchmen |
| Frenchmen |
|
Very friendly | 5 | Very friendly | 10 |
Rather friendly | 61 | Rather friendly | 66 |
Rather unfriendly | 19 | Rather unfriendly | 8 |
Absolutely unfriendly | 4 | Absolutely unfriendly | 1 |
Hard to tell | 11 | Hard to tell | 15 |
Englishmen |
| Englishmen |
|
Very friendly | 4 | Very friendly | 8 |
Rather friendly | 50 | Rather friendly | 61 |
Rather unfriendly | 26 | Rather unfriendly | 13 |
Absolutely unfriendly | 7 | Absolutely unfriendly | 1 |
Hard to tell | 13 | Hard to tell | 16 |
Chinese |
| Chinese |
|
Very friendly | 9 | Very friendly | 6 |
Rather friendly | 58 | Rather friendly | 52 |
Rather unfriendly | 19 | Rather unfriendly | 8 |
Absolutely unfriendly | 3 | Absolutely unfriendly | 1 |
Hard to tell | 12 | Hard to tell | 33 |
Germans |
| Germans |
|
Very friendly | 7 | Very friendly | 6 |
Rather friendly | 61 | Rather friendly | 56 |
Rather unfriendly | 21 | Rather unfriendly | 21 |
Absolutely unfriendly | 3 | Absolutely unfriendly | 3 |
Hard to tell | 9 | Hard to tell | 14 |
Czechs |
| Czechs |
|
Very friendly | 6 | Very friendly | 15 |
Rather friendly | 61 | Rather friendly | 66 |
Rather unfriendly | 20 | Rather unfriendly | 9 |
Absolutely unfriendly | 2 | Absolutely unfriendly | 1 |
Hard to tell | 11 | Hard to tell | 10 |
Slovaks |
| Slovaks |
|
Very friendly | 7 | Very friendly | 14 |
Rather friendly | 63 | Rather friendly | 69 |
Rather unfriendly | 17 | Rather unfriendly | 3 |
Absolutely unfriendly | 2 | Absolutely unfriendly | 1 |
Hard to tell | 12 | Hard to tell | 12 |
Ukrainians |
| Ukrainians |
|
Very friendly | 10 | Very friendly | 8 |
Rather friendly | 55 | Rather friendly | 52 |
Rather unfriendly | 25 | Rather unfriendly | 22 |
Absolutely unfriendly | 2 | Absolutely unfriendly | 3 |
Hard to tell | 7 | Hard to tell | 15 |
Belarusians |
| Belarusians |
|
Very friendly | 15 | Very friendly | 5 |
Rather friendly | 64 | Rather friendly | 51 |
Rather unfriendly | 13 | Rather unfriendly | 21 |
Absolutely unfriendly | 1 | Absolutely unfriendly | 4 |
Hard to tell | 7 | Hard to tell | 20 |
Lithuanians |
| Lithuanians |
|
Very friendly | 4 | Very friendly | 7 |
Rather friendly | 35 | Rather friendly | 49 |
Rather unfriendly | 39 | Rather unfriendly | 21 |
Absolutely unfriendly | 14 | Absolutely unfriendly | 4 |
Hard to tell | 9 | Hard to tell | 19 |
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