The majority of Russians have a positive attitude towards the talks between the presidents of Russia and the United States in Alaska. One in two believes that this meeting will help end the conflict in Ukraine and have a positive impact on relations between the two countries. Attitudes towards the United States continue to improve rapidly; today, less than a third of respondents have a negative attitude towards United States. About half of Russians rate the current relations between Russia and the United States as negative, but the share of positive assessments is growing. Today, the attitude towards the United States in Russia has returned to its before-2014 levels.
foreign policy
Mass perceptions of foreign policy in Russia and the United States
A comparative study by the Levada Center and the Chicago Council on Global Affairs shows that Russians are more likely than Americans to advocate their countries’ active participation in world affairs. The majority of respondents in both countries call military superiority the most effective approach to achieving foreign policy goals, and two-thirds of respondents said it was effective to provide financial assistance to other countries and impose tariffs on imports of goods from unfriendly countries. The perception of the country’s power and influence in the world differs between residents of the United States and Russia.: Americans often believe that economic power is more important than military power. While among Russians, opinions are equally divided.