Russians see more benefits in the Eastern orientation of the Russian political and economic policies.
MOSCOW, December 14, 2015. Russian Public Opinion Research Centre (VCIOM) presents the Russian assessments concerning the relations with the Asian countries, as well as their attitudes towards Russian “turn to the East”.
The results of the survey suggest that the first things that bring together Russia and Asian countries are common political interests (opposition to the U.S., opposition to the West, sanctions, et cet.) and common economic objectives. What separate them are geopolitical factors.
The majority of Russians (70%) consider that more active cooperation with the Asian countries (“turn to the East”) will have impact on the life in the country. At the same time, Russians see more positive points than negative ones. Twelve percent of them point out the strengthening of the trade and economic relationships; 8% see a way out of crisis.
More than one-third of Russians (37%) support the Russian policies aimed at developing “new eastern vector”; and every fifth (22%) believes that Russia should act more actively in this direction.
According to the respondents, those who will benefit from this “turn” are the country itself (“Russia” - 10%, authorities”- 8%. et cet.) and Eastern countries, whereas the West (“Europe” - 14%, “U.S.” – 8%, et cet.) will not gain anything. Sixty percent believe that Russia-China cooperation is mutually beneficial.
In spite of positive trend regarding Asia, particular questions are shaded by negative stereotypes and fears; Russians are afraid of the flow of poor quality goods (64% think it may happen in the next five to ten years) or migrant flow (61%).
*Fear Index shows how high the probability of certain problem is, according to Russian opinions. The higher the value of Index is, the more likely the problem is to happen. The Index is based on the question “How would you assess the probability of the following things to happen in your life?”; it is measured in points and can vary between -100 and 100. The answer “Completely confident that it will happen” corresponds to the coefficient (1); “I think it will happen” – (0.5); “It is likely to happen” – (0.1); “It is unlikely to happen” - (-0.5); “Completely confident that it will not happen”- (-1).
The VCIOM opinion poll was conducted October 24-25, 2015; 1600 respondents were interviewed in 130 settlements in 46 regions of Russia. The margin of error does not exceed 3.5%.
In your opinion, what brings Russia and Asia together? (open-ended question, any number of answers, %, answers presented by at least 1% of respondents) | |
| Total respondents |
Economy | 10 |
Opposition to the U.S.A | 6 |
Market | 6 |
Political interests | 5 |
Natural resources | 4 |
Opposition to the West | 4 |
Common interests | 4 |
Territorial closeness | 3 |
Business relationships | 3 |
Friendship | 3 |
Sanctions | 2 |
Fight against ISIL | 2 |
Geopolitics | 1 |
Mentality, traditions, ideology, history | 1 |
Situation in the world | 1 |
Nothing | 1 |
Other | 4 |
Don’t know | 47 |
Lowering the orientation towards the West and intensifying the cooperation with Asia are being increasingly discussed in the Russian society. Some call it a “turn to the East”. In your opinion, what effects may this “turn to the East” have on the life in Russia? (closed-ended question, one answer, %) | |
| Total respondents |
Considerable effects | 39 |
Fair effects | 31 |
No effects | 30 |
In your opinion, what changes will happen in Russia? (open-ended question, any number of answers, % of those who believe that the “turn to the East” will change the life in Russia; answers presented by at least 2% of respondents) | |
| Total respondents |
Strengthening trade and economic relations with the Eastern countries; new goods will appear | 12 |
Economic development; way out of crisis | 8 |
Flow of migrants | 6 |
Everything will work out for the best | 4 |
Decreased prices, inflation | 4 |
Increased political influence and Russian image in the world | 3 |
Increased living standards | 2 |
Other | 27 |
Don’t know | 49 |
In your opinion, who will suffer first from the Russian “turn to the East”? (open-ended question, any number of answers, %, answers presented by at least 2% of respondents) | |
| Total respondents |
No one | 18 |
Western countries | 16 |
Europe | 14 |
Russia | 11 |
U.S. | 8 |
Ukraine | 2 |
Other | 5 |
Don’t know | 31 |
What politics regarding the “Russian turn to the East” should Russian authorities adhere to? (close-ended question, one answer, %) | |||||||
| Total respondents | Moscow and St. Petersburg | Million cities | More than 500 ths | 100–500 ths | Less than 100 ths | Rural area |
Russia should act more actively following this direction | 22 | 31 | 20 | 21 | 18 | 20 | 23 |
Russia should pursue the same politics | 37 | 39 | 42 | 43 | 39 | 34 | 33 |
Russia should slow down and be more reserved | 23 | 23 | 26 | 17 | 25 | 23 | 23 |
Russia should abandon the idea to turn to the East | 5 | 4 | 2 | 9 | 6 | 5 | 6 |
Don’t know | 13 | 3 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 17 | 16 |
In your opinion, due to Russia’s “turn to the East” what is the possibility that the following things may happen in five or ten years? ... (close-ended question, one answer per each line, %) | ||||
| Completely confident; I think it is likely to happen (it has already happened)) | Completely confident; I think it is unlikely to happen | Don’t know | Fear Index* |
Cheap and poor quality goods from Asian countries such as China, Korea will overflow Russian market | 64 | 29 | 7 | 21 |
Mass flow of Asian migrants to Russia (China, Korea, et cet.) | 61 | 32 | 7 | 13 |
China will use Russia to increase its influence in the world | 53 | 36 | 11 | 9 |
Russian economic and political cooperation with the West will weaken | 51 | 36 | 13 | 6 |
Asians countries will buy Russian natural resources for cheap prices (oil, gas, soil) | 46 | 45 | 9 | 0 |
Far-Eastern and Siberian native populations will be displaced by people from Asia (Korea, China, et cet.) | 44 | 47 | 9 | -3 |
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.