Half of All Russians Say National Unity is Lacking in Their Country, VTsIOM Reports

Paul Goble

            Staunton, October 31 – According to a new VTsIOM poll conducted in advance of National Unity Day, 54 percent of Russians say that there is no national unity in the Russian Federation, compared to only 37 percent who assert the contrary. Those who live in Moscow and St. Petersburg are more likely than others to note an absence of unity.

            Thirty percent say that the reason for so little unity is that “each is out for himself.” Others said that radical income differentiation between rich and poor is to blame, while still others said there is no national unity because Russians do not have any common goal  (wciom.ru/index.php?id=236&uid=9978).