Russians’ attitudes to US, EU worsened: Poll

Russians’ attitudes to the United States and European Union have dramatically worsened since 1997, according to a new survey.

The poll results, released by the independent Levada Center pollster on Friday, showed that the number of Russians regarding the US “generally badly” rose to 36 percent this year, up from 31 percent last year and just 12 percent in 1997. A further 13 percent this year said they regarded the US “very badly.”

Only 3 percent of Russians regarded the US “very well,” down from 12 percent in 1997, the survey showed. That was slightly better than in 2008, when positive opinions of America reached a record low, with only 1 percent giving that answer.

Similarly, Russians’ attitude towards the European Union have also worsened, with 24 percent regarding it “generally badly” last month, while a decade ago the figure was just 9 percent.

The survey, conducted between September 20 and 24, interviewed 1,600 people in 130 towns and cities, with a margin of error of 3.4 percent.