Russians See No Need For Foreign Policy Change

By Bernama,

Moscow : There is nothing about Russia’s foreign policy today President Dmitry Dmitry Medvedev should change cardinally, although it would not be a redundant move to make relations with the West and the East more balanced, many Russians say.


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Russia’s Itar-Tass news agency reported Saturday that a recent opinion poll by the national public opinion studies centre, VCIOM, has found that anti-American and anti-Western sentiment remains considerably present in Russian society – in the older generation groups.

Many Russians tend to approve of the authorities’ foreign policy. The share of those who like it was up from 37 percent in September 2007 to 46 percent in January 2008 only to go down again to 41 percent in February.

According to the opinion of 46 percent of the polled, there is no reason for changing the foreign policy after the presidential election, while 36 percent think otherwise – they claim that time is ripe for change.

The new president’s foreign policy towards the West and the East should be more balanced, said one in two (51 percent).

One in five (20 percent) advocates a tougher policy towards the West, and a tiny 6 percent are for a more pro-Western policy.

Measures to strengthen Russia’s positions in the post-Soviet space were mentioned as a priority of the new president’s foreign policy by 28 percent of the polled.

Seventeen percent of the respondents believe Russia should seek integration with Europe, and as many see the importance of closer relations with the new economic leaders – China, India and Brazil.

A mere nine percent of the polled are for stronger strategic partnership with the United States.

“The previous president’s foreign policy suited Russians in principle, although it was not so popular as Vladimir Putin himself,” says the daily Kommersant.

“Those who approved of the Putin style of relations with the outside world never numbered even a half of the population.”

The European option is basically to the liking of those who regard themselves as more or less ‘well off’. VCIOM Director Valery Fyodorov says “as a rule they are younger people.”

The post-Soviet space is closer to the senior citizens, who regard their current material status, in contrast to the previous ‘Soviet one’ as “bad” or “average”.

Another VCIOM opinion poll, made public last April, showed that Russian citizens are peace-minded by and large, and would like to have a peace-maker and peace-keeper for their president.

At the same time most have a very vague idea of what they really want in this sense.

“What would you regard as the greatest achievement of a future president in international relations” the sociologists asked.

Two-thirds (64 percent) found it rather difficult to formulate an international agenda for the country’s new president.

About 12 percent of respondest came out for the establishment of friendly and peace relations with all countries and for the prevention of armed conflicts.

Ten percent supported the idea of a strong and influential country.

Five percent dream of the unification of the CIS member-states. One percent would like to see steps restricting NATO’s activity and a firm confrontation with the United States.

The daily Izvestia has published the findings of an Internet opinion poll, expected to find out what Russia’s foreign policy under President Dmitry Medvedev should be like.

Thirty four percent of the respondents believe that “a harsher line must be taken in relations with the United States, because that country understands no other language”, 26 percent are for stronger relations with all CIS countries, 24 percent believe the policy must be precisely what it was under Putin, and 16 percent call for restoring relations with the West.

Another VCIOM poll held in April illustrates the Russians’ likes and dislikes regarding other countries.

The country thought to be the friendliest towards Russia is China, and the worst relations are those with the United States and Georgia.

Twenty three percent said they thought that Russia’s relations with China are most friendly ones.

Seventeen percent pointed to Germany, and 14 percent, to Belarus. Since the previous such opinion poll by VCIOM last August China and Belarus scored two percentage points, and Germany, five.

The countries far rarer mentioned on the list of Russia’s friends are Kazakhstan, India, Japan and the EU nations – the ratings here range three to nine percent.

Nine percent of the polled rate the United States as a friendly nation, while 25 percent argue that Russia’s relations with that country are more strained than with any other.

The same percentage group of Russians said Georgia, too, belonged with this “worst tension group”. Ukraine follows with 21 percent.

Five to eight percent mentioned other ‘opponents’ – Britain, Poland and the Baltic countries.

The sociologists say there is a distinct trend – all would like Russia to hold firmer positions and enjoy greater independence, but at the same time believe that independence should not entail the emergence of another ‘iron curtain’ or a replay of the ‘cold war’, Vedomosti quotes Valery Fyodorov, the VCIOM director as saying.

“That two-thirds of the polled were unable to formulate a future president’s foreign policy tasks is an indication that the mentality of the Russian people is regaining health,” the chairman of the Foreign and Defense Policy Council’s Presidium, Sergei Karaganov, told the daily.

For many years the politicization of the Russian public mind was artificial. Besides, the elite’s state of mind has been changing.

The foreign policy ideas Medvedev has formulated can by no means be interpreted as a hard-line foreign policy strategy.

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