The data of the VCIOM-Omnibus daily survey show that more and more Russians perceive Russia as one of the most influential countries in the world. 

MOSCOW, March 15, 2017. Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VCIOM) presents the results of a survey devoted to the Russia’s role in the international arena.

The Russian assessments of the Russia’s position in the international arena have considerably strengthened over a year: whereas in 2016 the share of Russians who considered that the Russia’s role in international affairs was substantial was 75%, in 2017 this share makes up 86% (which is an all-time high). At the same time, the number of skeptics has fallen by almost half (from 18% to 10%; 16% among non–parliamentary parties’ supporters; 19% of those who assess their financial situation as bad or very bad).

Over the recent three years, hopes that Russia will become a great power have grown into confidence that the country is already one of the greatest ones. In 2014, 54% of respondents said that Russia would be one of the greatest in 15 or 20 years; today 57% say that Russia is already one of the leading powers in the world. At the moment, approximately a third of Russians (31%) consider that it will happen in the next decades; they are opposed by 10%.

A feeling of threat that was particularly strong in the beginning of 2015 (68% thought that there was a military threat at that moment) is steadily weakening (42% of Russians share this standpoint in March 2017). The corresponding Index* over the same period has dropped from 40 p. to -12 p.  At the same time, the U.S.A. is still perceived as a major potential threat to Russia (43% of those who say that a threat exists; a further 21% think that the threat comes from Ukraine). More than half of respondents (54%) think that there is no any military threat to Russia at the moment.

*Military Threat Index shows Russian subjective opinion about potential military threat to Russia. The Index is based on the question “In your opinion, is there any threat of military attack against Russia coming from any country?" It is calculated as the difference between positive and negative answers. The higher the value of Index is, the more Russians are confident that the military threat is real.  The Index can vary between -100 and 100 points.

The Sputnik omnibus survey was conducted on March 2-3, 2017, using stratified dual-frame random sample based on a complete list of landline and mobile phone numbers operating in Russia, and involved 1200 respondents. Russians aged 18 and over took part in the survey.  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 3.5%. In addition to sampling error, minor changes in question wording and different circumstances arising during the fieldwork can introduce bias into the survey.

*For the March 2000 – February 2015 period, the question was as follows: “In your opinion, is there any threat against Russia coming from other states?”

**In 1990, the mass survey was representative of the Russian rural and urban populations aged 16 and over; the sample size was 1708 persons.

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!