Russians believe that the main Polish values are family, traditions, entrepreneurship and religiosity. Poles view Russians as proud nation that respects the authorities.
MOSCOW, March 1, 2013. Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VCIOM) and Polish Public Opinion Research Center (CBOS) would like to present the results of the joint Russian-Polish study conducted in November and December 2012 in Russia and Poland. The study provides the public assessment of the Russia-Poland cooperation and the mutual perceptions of Russia and Poland. The results of the cross-country study will be presented at the III International Sociological Conference “Continuing Grushin”.
The first thing that comes to mind to Russians when they hear the word “Poland” is state (6%), and unfriendly attitude towards Russians (5%); those who think so are elderly respondents (9 versus 3% among young Russians). Poland is also associated with certain products such as cosmetics, perfume and clothing (5%). Four percent of respondents cite the Smolensk crash that killed the Polish president.
Most of Poles perceive Russia as state and identify it with policies after 1991 (21%), authoritarian regime (11%), and state in general (6%). Many Poles cite Poland-Russia relations including the crash over Smolensk (11%), historical period before 1917, the Katyn massacre (5%); Polish respondents also express overall negative opinion of Russia (7%), as well as unfriendly manner of bilateral relations (4%). Simultaneously, Russia is perceived as geographical and culture space: respondents mention rich resources and power (8%, for each), peculiarities of Russian culture and climate (5%, for each). Poles tend to notice social problems of Russia; they have less associations with the 1917-1991 period of Russian history.
Remarkably, the share of Russians who declined to express opinions about Poland is 44%, whereas the corresponding shape of respondents in Poland makes up only 8%.
Mutual perceptions of Russians and Poles are considerably different. Russians describe Russians as tolerant nation (39%) that prizes family and traditions (37%) and have a sense of humor (34%). In Polish opinion, the most important Russian values are pride (58%) and respect for the power (46%). Russians perceive the Polish people as a nation that appreciates family and traditions (35%), entrepreneurship (26%), religiosity (24%). Poles themselves believe that they have such traits as sense of freedom (66%); like Russians, they favor traditions and family (54%), religiosity (48%) and honor (45%) above all .
The quantitative survey was conducted by Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VCIOM) in Russia and the Center for Public Opinion Research (CBOS) in Poland in November and December 2012. The total of 1600 Russians and 1036 Poles were polled using the formalized home-based interview.
What comes to your mind when you hear the word “Poland”? (open-ended question, any number of answers) | What comes to your mind when you hear the word “Russia”? (open-ended question, any number of answers) | ||
| Russian poll |
| Polish poll |
State, country | 6 | Politics after 1991, Putin, Medvedev | 21 |
Cosmetics, perfume, clothes | 5 | Rule with a strong hand, authoritarian regime | 11 |
Malevolent towards us | 5 | Smolensk catastrophe | 11 |
Air crash that killed the Polish president | 4 | Gap between the rich and the poor | 11 |
Border, our neighbors | 3 | Alcohol addiction | 10 |
Friendly country, congenial souls | 3 | Crime | 9 |
Great Civil War | 2 | Rich in natural resources | 8 |
Warsaw | 2 | Strong country | 8 |
Former Socialist Republic | 2 | USSR, totalitarianism | 8 |
Beautiful country | 2 | History till 1917 | 7 |
Poles | 1 | General negative perception | 7 |
Developed country, high living standards | 1 | State | 6 |
History, Polish intervention | 1 | Katyn, massacre of Polish officers | 5 |
Movies | 1 | Cold weather | 5 |
Catholics, Roman-Catholic Church | 1 | Culture, language, ballet, theatre et cet. | 5 |
Anna German | 1 | Moscow, Kremlin, Red Square | 5 |
Market | 1 | Kolkhoz, camps | 5 |
Euro 2012 | 1 | Poor relations between Russia and Poland | 4 |
Ivan Susanin | 1 | Communist politicians (Lenin, Stalin et cet.) | 4 |
Pan, pani | 1 | Second World War | 4 |
Polish culture, traditions, ethnic clothing | 1 | Kind people, Slavic soul | 4 |
Fascist | 1 | Fear, anxiety | 1 |
Hard to tell | 44 | Hypocrisy, insincerity | 1 |
| Orthodox Christianity, church | 1 | |
Other | 8 | ||
Hard to tell | 8 | ||
Could you please choose three values regarded as the most important ones by Poles? (close-ended question, up to three answers) | ||
| Russian poll | Polish poll |
Humor | 4 | 5 |
Entrepreneurship | 26 | 7 |
Order | 20 | 4 |
Ingenuity | 11 | 11 |
Tolerance | 6 | 7 |
Honesty | 5 | 11 |
Individualism | 16 | 3 |
Family, traditions | 35 | 54 |
Freedom | 12 | 66 |
Honor | 8 | 45 |
Pride | 15 | 16 |
Respect for the power | 13 | 3 |
Respect for the law | 13 | 4 |
Openness, bravery | 9 | 5 |
Religiosity | 24 | 48 |
Hard to tell | 23 | 1 |
Could you please choose three values regarded as the most important ones by Russians? (close-ended question, up to three answers) | ||
Russian poll | Polish poll | |
Humor | 34 | 6 |
Entrepreneurship | 14 | 4 |
Order | 5 | 7 |
Ingenuity | 24 | 7 |
Tolerance | 39 | 2 |
Honesty | 10 | 2 |
Individualism | 5 | 9 |
Family, traditions | 36 | 17 |
Freedom | 21 | 23 |
Honor | 14 | 27 |
Pride | 15 | 58 |
Respect for the power | 4 | 46 |
Respect for the law | 4 | 9 |
Openness, bravery | 37 | 11 |
Religiosity | 8 | 12 |
Hard to tell | 5 | 12 |
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!