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Russians are confident that Russia is facing more threats today but its army is ready to protect the population.

MOSCOW, February 20, 2015. Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VCIOM) presents the data concerning the attitudes of Russians towards the following questions: Is there any threat to Russia today? What is the current situation in the Russian army? Do Russians want their friends and relatives to serve in the army?  

Today more Russians have felt the external military threat than it was fifteen years ago: the index* has increased fourfold over a year (from 10 p. in 2014 to 40 p. in 2015) and reached its historical maximum. Two-thirds of Russians think so (68%; 52% a year ago). Twenty-eight percent of respondents doubt that there is any external military threat, which is 1.5 times less than it was in 2014   (42%).

At the same time, more Russians assess the current state of the Russian army positively; the indicator showing public attitudes towards this question** has reached 81 p. (62 p. in 2014) which is a new record. The share of positive assessments has doubled: whereas every fourth Russian assessed the situation in the army as “good” a year ago (24%), today every second person thinks so (49%). Simultaneously, the number of negative assessments has declined from 14% to 6%. Forty percent of Russians are satisfied with the situation in the army.

Russians have ambiguity attitudes towards the question whether the size of the army should be enlarged. Forty percent of respondents believe that the capacity of the armed forces should be extended (30% in 2014) which is the highest record over the entire period of measurement. Forty-two percent of respondents do not think that the size of the army should be increased. Only 7% of Russians think that the size should be reduced.

Today Russians regard the military service as less attractive than it was a year or two ago; the index*** has lost 12 points (since 2013-214) and has approached zero. Whereas half of Russians (47%) want their brothers/sons/husbands to serve in the Russian armed forces (56% of men and 39% of women), the orther part (47%) do not want it.

*Military threat index shows the subjective opinion concerning the possible military theats to Russia. The index is based  on the question “In your opinion, is there any military threat to Russia coming from other states?”. The index is calcualted as a difference between positive and negative assessments. The value of index can vary between -100 and 100 points. The higher the value of index is, the more Russians are confident that something threatens Russia

**Army situation index shows the subjective opinion concerning the curent situaiton in the Russian army.  The index is based  on the question "How would you assess the current situation in the Russian army?”. The index is calcualted as a difference of the sum of  positive and average assessments and the sum of negative assessments. The value of index can vary between -100 and 100 points. The higher the value of index is, the more positve Russians are about the situation in the Russian army.

***Army attractiveness index shows the Russians attotudes wothds the military service. The index is based  on the question  “Would you like your son/brother/husband/close relative to serve in the army today?” The index is calcualted as a difference between positive and negative assessments. The value of index can vary between -100 and 100 points. The higher the value of index is, the better Russian attitudes towards military service are.

The VCIOM opinion poll was conducted on February 14-15, 2015; 1600 respondents were interviewed in 132 communities in 46 regions of Russia. The margin of error does not exceed 3.5%.

In your opinion, is there any military threat to Russia coming from other states?

 (closed-ended question, one answer)

 

2000

2002

2009

2010

2014

2015

Definitely yes

16

13

9

13

16

24

Rather yes

33

30

28

36

36

44

Rather no

35

37

40

32

35

20

Definitely no

9

7

12

8

7

8

Don`t know

7

13

11

11

6

4

Index*

5

0

-15

10

10

40

How would you assess the current situation in the Russian army? (closed-ended question, one answer)

 

1998

2009

2010

2011

2013

2013

2014

2015

Very good

<1

2

2

1

2

2

4

8

Good  

1

15

12

12

14

20

20

41

Average  

13

48

47

44

46

53

54

40

Bad  

40

22

25

23

26

16

14

6

Very bad

41

3

3

6

5

2

2

2

Don`t know

5

10

10

14

6

7

5

3

Index **

-67

40

34

28

30

57

62

 81

Today about 800 thousand people serve in the army. In your opinion, how big should Russian army be?

(closed-ended question, one answer)

 

2006

2009

2010

2014

2015

The same size

45

48

39

47

42

The size of the army should be increased

19

25

30

30

40

The size of the army should be considerably decreased

20

13

14

10

7

Don`t know

15

14

18

13

11

‘Until 2010, the question was “Today more than one million one hundred persons serve in the army. In your opinion, how big should Russian army be?”

Would you like your son/brother/husband/close relative to serve in the army today?

(closed-ended question, one answer)

 

2002

2010

2012

2014

2015

Rather yes

20

36

52

53

47

Rather no

74

50

40

41

47

Don`t know

6

14

8

7

6

Index ***

-54

-14

12

12

0

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!

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