The Perestroika moods have almost faded away. Today the United States are seen as a country of moral collapse which is extremely unfriendly towards Russia.
MOSCOW, August 31, 2015. Russian Public Opinion Research Centre (VCIOM) presents the data describing the attitudes of Russians towards the U.S.A today and twenty-five years ago.
Russians perceive the United States negatively: negative statements concerning Americans are expressed by 9% of respondents; hatred, dislikes and disgust - by 2 % (per each group). The U.S.A is also perceived as aggressor (4%), “number one enemy” (4%), instigator (2%), a country striving for the world leadership (2%), conducting anti-Russian policy (2%) and using sanctions against Russia (2%), etc.
Positive associations are mentioned rarer: great power (2%), rich and strong country (1%, per each group), free people (1%), etc. Every tenth recalls Barack Obama (10%). Russians also cite stars and stripes flag (2%), Hollywood (2%), Mc Donald’s (1%), fast food (1%), same-sex marriage (1%), and leading fashion brands (1%), etc.
The attitudes towards the United States have dramatically changed since the Perestroika epoch. Whereas in 1990 the USA was portrayed as a country with high living standards (35%; 12% in 2015), today this is a country of high crime rate and moral collapse (15%; 1% 1990), a country where there is no warm-heartedness in human relationships (15%; 1% in 1990).
A quarter of a century ago Russians saw America as a free society (13%) with advanced science and technologies (15%), where success depends on personal efforts (20%). But today similar views are expressed rarely (5%, 7% and 7%, respectively). Simultaneously, more Russians mention disadvantages: 9% think that the U.S. is a country of racial discrimination (vs 1% in 1990); 11% think that there is a huge gap between the rich and the poor (vs 5%, respectively).
The American government is seen as hostile towards Russia (59%), whereas in 1990 one-third of respondents (35%) regarded America as a friendly state. Today 31% of Russians believe the U.S. is unfriendly towards Russia (40% in 1990).
The VCIOM opinion poll was conducted July 25-26, 2015; 1600 respondents were interviewed in 130 settlements in 46 regions of Russia. The margin of error does not exceed 3.5%.
What comes first to your mind when you hear the expression “United States of America”? (open-ended question, any number of answers, the answers shown are mentioned by at least 1% of respondents) | |
| Total respondents |
Obama | 10 |
Negative features | 9 |
Aggressor | 4 |
Number one enemy | 4 |
War | 3 |
Americans | 2 |
Rage, hatred | 2 |
Hollywood, American movies | 2 |
Dollar | 2 |
Dislikes | 2 |
Disgust | 2 |
Sanctions | 2 |
Stars and stripes flag | 2 |
Anti-Russian policy | 2 |
Instigator | 2 |
Striving for world leadership | 2 |
Abusive language | 2 |
Normal attitudes, nothing special | 2 |
Wrong politics, , incompetent government | 2 |
Geographical associations | 2 |
Great power, super state | 2 |
Democracy | 1 |
Mc Donald`s | 1 |
Afro-Americans, Indians | 1 |
World gendarme | 1 |
Country of free people | 1 |
Fat people | 1 |
Stupid Americans | 1 |
Fast food | 1 |
High living standards | 1 |
Rich country | 1 |
Big country | 1 |
Developed country with strong economy | 1 |
Our competitor | 1 |
Famous fashion brands | 1 |
Liberal views, same-sex marriage | 1 |
Anxiety, fear | 1 |
Chaos, mess | 1 |
Military power | 1 |
Desire for negative actions toward this country | 1 |
Evil | 1 |
Soulless, immoral people | 1 |
They live for themselves at the expense of others | 1 |
Famous figures | 1 |
Drug addiction, crime | 1 |
Distrust, misunderstanding | 1 |
Other | 7 |
Don`t know | 30 |
How could you describe the United States of America? (closed-ended question, one answer, %) | ||
| 1990 * | 2015 |
A country of high crime rate and moral collapse | 1 | 15 |
A country where no warm-heartedness exists | 1 | 15 |
A country with high living standards | 35 | 12 |
A country where there is a big gap between the rich and the poor | 5 | 11 |
A country of racial discrimination | 1 | 9 |
A country of advanced science and technologies | 15 | 7 |
A country where success depends on personal efforts | 20 | 7 |
Free society | 13 | 5 |
Other | - | 6 |
I do not know exactly | 10 | 12 |
* In 1990 the survey was based on a representative nationwide sample; rural and urban populations aged 16 and over; sample size: 1520 persons
In your opinion, what are the attitudes of the American government towards Russia: friendly, not friendly enough, hostile? ** (closed-ended question, one answer, %) | ||
| 1990 * | 2015 |
Friendly | 35 | 3 |
Not friendly enough | 40 | 32 |
Hostile | 2 | 59 |
I do not know exactly | 23 | 6 |
** In 1990, the question was “How does the American government perceive the USSR: friendly, not friendly enough, or hostile”?
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