Russians’ attitude towards the EU, Ukraine, Poland, Germany, and the UK remains predominantly negative. Attitudes towards the United States have worsened after a sharp improvement in the first half of the year, with negative assessments again exceeding positive ones. Attitudes towards the EU, the UK and Ukraine have improved slightly in recent months. Attitudes towards Germany have remained virtually unchanged for three years.
countries
Perceptions of friendly and unfriendly countries, relations with the West, attitudes towards certain countries and destinations for foreign travel
In May 2025, respondents named Belarus, China, Kazakhstan, India and North Korea as the friendliest countries for Russia. The most hostile were Germany, Great Britain, Ukraine, the USA and Poland; for the first time in 20 years of measurements, the USA dropped from first to fourth place in this list. Two thirds of respondents are confident that relations between Russia and the West will always be based on mistrust (the highest level in the entire observation period), while the absolute majority of respondents are in favor of détente. The attitude towards India and Brazil is predominantly positive, the attitude towards the USA and Japan is almost equally divided, the attitude towards European countries is predominantly negative, and 3/4 of Russians have a negative attitude towards Ukraine. Most often, respondents have visited neighboring countries, and least often – America
Sentiments about emigration and attitudes towards those who left: April 2025
Nine out of ten Russians would not like to move abroad permanently, which is the highest figure in 35 years of observation. Young people and opposition-minded citizens are more likely to move than others. The main reasons for moving, according to respondents, are an interest in another culture, a desire to provide their children with a decent future abroad, and the economic and political situation in Russia. Respondents most often name the United States, Spain, Italy and other European countries, as well as South Korea and Australia, as the destination for their relocation. Almost every fifth respondent has relatives or friends who have left Russia in the last two or three years. The attitude towards those who left Russia is ambiguous: some consider them traitors, while others say that they want to achieve more abroad.
Attitude towards China, Brazil, Turkey, Iran, France, Ukraine, the USA, the EU and the UN
Most Russians have a positive attitude towards China. Positive attitudes also prevail towards Brazil, Turkey and Iran. The European Union, the United States, Ukraine and France are mostly viewed negatively. The attitude towards the UN is usual rather negative, and respondents also have a poor opinion about its influence. Respondents who are positive about the UN explain their position by saying that the organization stands for peace, resolves international issues and protects the interests of smaller countries. The negative opinion about the UN is caused by beliefs in its uselessness, aggression towards Russia, and bias in favor of the West.
Nagorno-Karabakh and the attitude towards countries against the background of the conflict: September 2023
There is a high awareness of Russians about the military conflict in Nagorno–Karabakh – 81% have at least heard something about it, every fifth respondent followed the events closely. Respondents blame the USA and NATO countries (41%) for the resumption of the conflict, to a lesser extent Azerbaijan (15%) and Armenia (11%). Over the 7 years of the conflict, sympathy for the Azerbaijani side has doubled – 10%, while sympathy for the Armenian side, on the contrary, has decreased by about half (8%). At the same time, three-quarters of respondents do not support any of the parties to the conflict at all. More than half of Russians support the deployment of Russian peacekeepers in Karabakh, their number has not changed significantly since the last measurement in 2020. More than half of Russians have a positive attitude towards Turkey, Azerbaijan and Armenia.