Confidence of Russians in the authorities’ capability to handle the terrorist threat is rising amid Syrian government’s restored control and successful efforts to eliminate the Islamic gangs.  

MOSCOW, September 11, 2018. Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VCIOM) presents the data of a survey devoted to terrorism.

Most of Russians (85%) consider that the Russian authorities are capable of protecting the population against possible attacks (73 p., an all-time high).  

Fear of terrorist threat hit an all-time low; in 2018 the index of fear has dropped to -34 p.  Over the entire period of measurement the index has been fluctuating within 37-55 p. Today 55% of Russians are afraid of being victims of terrorist attacks (vs 66% in 2017). The main terrorist threats come from the ISIL and the U.S.A. (17%, for each).

According to the majority (80%), President Vladimir Putin pays enough attention to combating terrorism. At the same time, every tenth (9%) says that the attention to this problem is excessive. Six percent of respondents oppose this stance. 

*Index of fear of being victims of terrorist attacks. The index is based on the question: Are you/your relatives afraid/not afraid of being victims of terrorist attacks? Coefficients from 0.9 to 0.1 are assigned to answers. The Index is measured in points and can vary between 10 and 90. The higher the index, the higher the fear of being victims of attacks.

**Index shows subjective respondents’ assessments of the government’s capabilities to protect the population against new terrorist attacks. The indicator is calculated as the difference of positive and negative answers to the question: In your opinion, will the Russian government be capable of protecting the Russian population against new terrorist attacks? The Index is measured in points and can vary between -100 and 100. The higher the index, the higher the confidence is.

The VCIOM-Sputnik survey was conducted on August 31, 2018. The survey involved 1,600 Russians aged 18 and over. The survey was telephone-based and was carried out using stratified dual-frame random sample based on a complete list of landline and mobile phone numbers operating in Russia. The data were weighted according to selection probability 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 in question wording and different circumstances arising during the fieldwork can introduce bias into the survey.

The 2000-2016 results are based on household surveys.

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