Army approval and trust levels are high among Russians and young persons in particular.

MOSCOW, February 18, 2016. Russian Public Opinion Research Centre (VCIOM) presents the results of the survey describing the approval ratings of the Russian armed forces and Russian defense minister S. Shoygu, as well as the assessment of the prestige of the military service.

The Russian army approval dynamics have been persistently positive over the recent decade. By October 2015, the share of those who assess the performance of the Russian armed forces reached 82% (previous years’ maximum – 83%).

The assessments of the Russian army combat readiness is almost absolute today: 89% of Russians (a 15-year maximum) believe that Russian army is capable of protecting the population facing a real military threat.  The share of Russians aged 18-24 sharing this stance exceeds 80%. The Russian defense minister S. Shoygu approval and trust ratings are extremely high (84% and 88%, respectively).

Demand for strong army is unchallenged: 88% consider that army is the top Russia’s priority today. The share of young persons who think so is lower but still constitutes the majority (78%). Almost every second (45%) supports the idea to strengthen the role of the army in the society; only 5% oppose them.

Army service has become a socially approvable act: 57% of Russians would like their relatives to serve in the army (from 36% in 2014). The share of those who disapprove of the army service has decreased to 31%.

Today Russians perceive the army as a social institution that gives new opportunities (67%). The share of young persons who think so is 53%.  Ten percent of respondents cite negative effects of the army; 18% believe that the army does not play any crucial role in the life. Most of young pre-conscription respondents (71%) plan to serve in the army; however few of them do a determined effort for that (only 19%).

At the same time, the level of public awareness of the situation in the army is medium: 51% of respondents are aware of the current situation and problems; 48% are not aware. The awareness level among young Russians makes up 46%.

Military service attractiveness index shows the attitudes of Russians towards the military service. The index is based on the question: "Would you like your son, brother, husband or close relative to serve in the army?” The index is calculated as a difference between positive and negative responses; the value of index may vary between -100 and 100 points; the higher the value of index is, the better Russians perceive the military service.

The study is a multi-stage research project titled “Public confidence in Russian military forces as a guarantor of Russia’s political and social stability”. The project involves (1) Russian survey conducted in 130 Russian settlements and 46 regions, krais and republics; the sample size is 1600 persons; the margin of error does not exceed 3.4%; (2) target groups’ survey (pre-conscription youth aged 16-18,  Russian military officers, conscripts, contract military personnel, persons served in the army for more than ten months and members of military personal families); the sample size is 3000 persons, 600 respondents in each target group; (3) 40 in-depth interviews with representatives of target groups in more than 20 Russian administrative units. The study was taking place from October 2 through November 30, 2015.

*Question: “Doyougenerallyapproveordisapproveoftheperformance of the Russian army?”* (closed-ended question, one answer)

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!