The deterioration of Russia-Ukraine relations has been mentioned by two-thirds of respondents. Most of Russians believe that Russia should respond in a diplomatic way.
MOSCOW, June 30, 2014. Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VCIOM) presents the data concerning the way how Russians assess the Russian-Ukrainian relations; how many Russians know about what happened at the Russian Embassy in Kiev; and how the authorities should respond to that.
Two-thirds of respondents (65%) say that the Ukrainian-Russia relations have considerably worsened over the recent month. Those who think so are mainly elderly respondents (68% aged over 45), rather than young Russians (56% оf 18-24-year-old Russians). Twenty-nine percent of Russians believe that Russian and Ukrainian governments are interacting in the same way as before. Only 2% report the normalization of the relations between Ukraine and Russia.
Most of Russians are aware of the June 14th picket that took place near the Russian embassy and evolved into a debacle (67%): 31% know all the details about it; 36% heard something about that. Those who are more informed are elderly respondents (43% aged over 60), respondents with high level of education (37%). One-third of respondents (31%) do not know anything about what happened.
More than one-third of those who heard about the disturbances (39%) failed to answer how Russia should respond to that. Others say that Russia should take diplomatic actions (28%), apply economic sanctions (6%) or deploy peacekeeping forces (7%). One percent of respondents say that Russia should do the same with the Ukrainian embassy in Moscow. Fourteen percent say that nothing should be done.
The VCIOM opinion poll was conducted on June 21-22, 2014. 1600 respondents were interviewed in 130 communities in 42 regions of Russia. Data are weighted by gender, age, education, working status and type of settlement. The margin of error does not exceed 3.4%.
In your opinion, in what direction have the Russia- Ukraine relations evolving over the recent month? (closed-ended question, one answer) | |||||||
| Total | Moscow and St.Petersburg | Million cities | More than 500 ths | 100–500 ths | Less than 100 ths | Rural area |
The relations are becoming normal | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 1 |
The relations are neither getting better, nor getting worse | 29 | 34 | 25 | 21 | 33 | 32 | 25 |
The relations are getting more and more tense and deteriorating | 65 | 61 | 69 | 72 | 59 | 61 | 69 |
Don`t know | 4 | 3 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 4 |
Do you know/have you heard/do you hear for the first time about what happened at the Russian embassy on July 14th in Kiev? (closed-ended question, one answer ) | ||||||
| Total | Aged 18-24 | Aged 25-34 | Aged 35-44 | Aged 45-59 | Aged 60 and over |
I know well about that | 31 | 13 | 24 | 30 | 37 | 43 |
I heard something but I do not know the details | 36 | 31 | 38 | 38 | 35 | 37 |
This is the first time that I hear about that | 31 | 52 | 36 | 30 | 27 | 20 |
Don`t know | 2 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | <1 |
In your opinion, how should Russia respond to what happened? (open-ended question, any number of answers, % of those who are aware of what has happened) | |
| Total |
Respond in a diplomatic way | 28 |
Do not respond | 14 |
Deploy peacekeeping forces | 7 |
Apply economic measures | 6 |
To rebuff Ukraine; to respond severely | 6 |
Intensify diplomatic security; strengthen the borders | 2 |
Other | 2 |
Respond in the same manner | 1 |
Don`t know | 39 |
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!