MOSCOW, March 24, 2021. Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VCIOM) presents the data of surveys describing how Russians and Poles view the Russia-Poland relations.  

Russians think that the current Russia-Poland relations are plateauing. Today there are neither positive nor negative changes. In 2020, pessimism was expressed by 59% of Poles (56% in 2014) and 39% of Russians (38% in 2014).

Despite mutually pessimistic assessments of the Polish-Russian relations, most of Poles and Russians believe that both countries should perceive one another as an ally (42% of Poles, 40% of Russians) and as a friend (22% and 28, respectively). Another one-quarter of Poles consider that the bilateral relations must be competitive (24%); Russians are less likely to support this stance (16%). Hostility is not popular either with Poles (5%) or with Russians (8%).

What are the attitudes of the leadership and the population of different countries towards Russia?

Almost one-third of Russians consider that the attitudes of the Polish leaders towards Russia are largely favorable (29%). Since 2014, there has been an upward trend (+5 p.p.). The countries most favorably disposed towards Russia are Belarus (90%) and China (87%); Ukraine and the U.S.A. are the countries with the most unfavorable views of Russia.

The public perceptions across various countries towards Russia are, as usual, more positive than the perceptions of the leaders. According to the Russian survey, the perceptions of the Polish population towards Russia have not charged over six years (48% of positive views in 2020 and 49% in 2014). The friendliest attitudes towards Russians are expressed by Belarusians (94%) and Chinese (90%).

Views of other countries and their populations towards Poland  

According to 22% of Poles, the attitudes of the Russian leaders towards Poland are likely or very likely friendly. Since 2014, the share of positive views has increased by 5 percentage points (from 17% to 22%). Compared to other countries, the countries holding positive views are primarily the Czech Republic (93%) and the U.S.A. (91%).

As to the public perceptions of Poland, the Polish survey showed positive changes compared to the 2014 findings: in 2014, 46% of Poles thought that Russians had favorable views of Poland, but today this share reached 71%. The populations with positive views toward Poland are Americans and the Czechs (92-93%).

The study was commissioned by the Center for Polish-Russian Dialogue and Understanding in December, 2020. The Russian nationwide survey involved 1,600 respondents aged 18 and older. Method: telephone interview using dual-frame random sample based on a complete list of Russian landline and mobile phone numbers. The data were weighted according to selection probability and social and demographic characteristics.  The margin of error at a 95% confidence level did not exceed 2.5%. In addition to sampling error, minor changes to the wording of questions and different circumstances arising during the fieldwork may introduce bias into the survey.

The Polish survey was telephone-based and involved 1,000 respondents. Stratified random sampling was used; the margin of error was 3.1%  

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