Poll Shows Russians Back Putin’s Anti-West; Anti-U.S. Efforts

Russian paranoia high - 47% believe  major Western countries are Russia’s enemies and will cause it harm.

A poll of Russians by the Levada Center (see below) immediately after the Russo-Georgian war found 75% saying Russian-American relations are “not good,” 39% “chilly”; 28% say “strained,” and 8 % say “hostile.”

Forty-seven percent believe that major Western countries are Russia’s enemies and will cause harm to Russian interests if they can. Half said the U.S. was trying to “spread its influence over Russia’s neighbors,” and nearly three-quarters said the West’s support of Georgia is an attempt “to weaken Russia and force it out of the Caucasus.”

The Russian people were demoralized after the collapse of the Soviet Union, and most have welcomed the push for a new nationalist spirit and renewed Russian pride championed by Vladimir Putin over the past five years. High energy prices have increased the quality of life for the average Russian, and Putin’s push for a stronger Russia on the international stage has been enthusiastically embraced at home.

Putin has worked feverishly to reverse the few democratic gains that were made in the 1990s, has used energy as a diplomatic weapon, has invested heavily in the Russian military, and has worked to counter the United States on virtually every significant international issue.

The war with Georgia was just Putin’s latest jab at the west. Medvedev may be president, but few actually believe he is calling the shots, and Russians are buying what Putin is selling. With the Russian people on Putin’s side, he is likely to continue his adversarial relationship with the West, knowing that Europe has no stomach for a fight with Russia and that the United States is too occupied in Afghanistan and Iraq to do much to stop him. Putin is watching the November presidential election and believe if Obama is elected that will provide an opportunity for Russian nationalism and territorialism to be advanced.

Yuri Levada Analytical Center was formed in 1988-1989 as the All-Russian Public Opinion Research Centre (VCIOM) and it was part of the USSR Ministry of Labour and the Trade Unions Council (VTsSPS). Specifics of its polling can not be examined, and it has been a propaganda tool in the past.