Half of Russians love Lukashenko, while Belarusians more often prefer to choose Europe

27 июля 2020, 16:40

The All-Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VTsIOM) conducted a survey on the attitude of Russians towards Belarus and its leader. In six months, twice as many people notice that relations between countries are deteriorating. Lukashenko is still loved by 60-year-olds.

Half of Russians said that relations between Russia and Belarus are calm. A third of the respondents are sure of this. And although 15% called the relationship friendly, the number of such people has decreased by almost half since December 2019. Twice as many respondents found it difficult to answer.

When asked about trends, Russians expressed themselves more definitely: the number of people observing a deterioration in relations has almost doubled - from 12% in the December poll to 21% now. The number of undecided increased - from 12% to 19%.

Every tenth Russian does not like Alexander Lukashenko. Every second person in Russia still has a positive attitude towards the President of Belarus. Every third person spoke about their indifference towards the leader of the neighboring country.

The fan club of Alexander Lukashenko, on the other hand, is stable. The older the respondents were, the more positive the assessments were. 65% of 60-year-olds and older approve of his activities, as do 55% in the 45-59 age group. Sociologists think that the experience of life in one country - the USSR and the perception of Belarus as a fraternal country - has an effect. The younger the respondents were, the more indifferent attitude they demonstrated to Lukashenko. In the group from 18 to 24 years old, more than half of such answers were collected - 57%. In general, every third Russian spoke about his indifference to the Belarusian long-liver.

Earlier polls this year of both Belarusians and Russians suggest that the union of Russia and Belarus is a matter of a very distant future. According to a poll by the Levada Center, only 10% consider the union a good idea. Among Belarusians, the number of supporters of a united state also fell by 20%, although 40% continue to think so. The trend is towards Europe - every third Belarusian wants to live in a united Europe. Apparently, this explains the high street activity of neighbors in the upcoming presidential elections in August.