MOSCOW, 06 April 2022. Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VCIOM) presents the findings of a monitoring study on the Russian perceptions of the USA.

Most of the surveyed Russians said they view the USA in a negative way  (71%). Almost half of respondents have very bad perceptions (47%); this is an all-time high (+20 p.p. compared to the previous all-time high (XI.2014 — 27%). The Index of attitudes towards the USA* reached its record low of 67, breaking its previous record low (-44p. in 2014)

Fourteen percent of Russians report positive attitudes to the USA. The most positive views were recorded in early 1990s (83% in 1991), with a third of respondents expressing highly negative views (29%); there was a fourfold reduction during the consecutive decade (7% in 2001) and ever since the share has not exceeded 5%.

Over the recent eight years the Russian views of the USA have been largely negative, unlike previous years: from early 2000s to November 2014 the index of attitudes to the USA was primarily positive, and half of Russians reported more or less positive perceptions of the USA (from 46% to 63% in various years). During this period there was a single decrease in the idne value in September 2008 (−43), but the index values quickly returned to the pre-crisis levels (13 p. in 2009). After a 2014 drop the Russian positive attitudes to the USA have not returned to the same levels: the index of attitudes towards the USA has been negative over the recent years  (−44 p. in 2014, −11 p. and −9 p. in 2018, −57 p. in 2022).

*Index of attitudes towards the USA  shows how Russians perceive the USA. Index is based on the question: “What is your current attitude towards the United States?”. It is calculated as a sum of positive answers (“very good”, “generally good”) and negative answers ( “generally bad”, “very bad”) . Index is measured in points and can vary between −100 and 100. The higher the value, the better Russian pereptions of the US.

Russian nationwide VCIOM-Sputnik survey was conducted on March 19, 2022. A total of 1,600 of Russians aged 18 and older took part in the survey. Results are based on telephone interviews. Stratified dual-frame random sample based on a complete list of Russian landline and mobile phone numbers was used. The data were weighted according to the probability of selection and social and demographic characteristics. The margin of error at a 95% confidence level does not exceed 2.5%. In addition to sampling error, minor changes to the wording of questions and different circumstances arising during the fieldwork can introduce bias into the survey