87% of Russians know of the popular protests in Kazakhstan that took place in early January. 48% believe the reason for the protests is people’s dissatisfaction with the growing prices and deteriorating life quality, 35% – that foreign forces provoked the conflict. 67% of Russians approve of Russian troops taking part in the CSTO operation.
74% of respondents like Kazakhstan: 13% have a very good attitude towards it, 61% – mostly good. In 2009, 80% of respondents had a positive outlook on Kazakhstan.
[1]87% are aware of the protests that took place in early January in Kazakhstan: a third (33%) of respondents followed the developments closely, more than half (54%) heard something about it.
[2]About half (48%) of respondents believe that the reason for mass protests in Kazakhstan was people’s dissatisfaction with rising prices and deteriorating quality of life. More than a third (35%) suggest that the protests were caused by a provocation of foreign forces. A fifth (23%) cited the struggle for power of different political groups in Kazakhstan as the reason.
[3]67% approve (30% definitely approve, 37% rather approve than disapprove) of Russian troops participating in the CSTO operation.
[4]About half (46%) of respondents believe that after these events, relations between Russia and Kazakhstan will remain at the same level. Another third (33%) see the potential for improving bilateral relations.
[5]METHODOLOGY
The survey by the Levada Center was conducted January 27 – February 02, among a representative sample of all Russian urban and rural residents. The sample was comprised of 1626 people aged 18 or older in 137 municipalities of 50 regions of the Russian Federation. The survey was conducted as a personal interview in respondents’ homes. The answer distribution is presented as percentages of the total number of participants along with data from previous surveys.
The statistical error of these studies for a sample of 1600 people (with a probability of 0.95) does not exceed:
3.4% for indicators around 50%
2.9% for indicators around 25%/75%
2.0% for indicators around 10%/90%
1.5% for indicators around 5%/95%
The ANO Levada Center is included in the registry of non-commercial organizations acting as foreign agents.