Far Fewer Russians are Committed Patriots Now than When Putin Came to Power, Poll Shows

Paul Goble

            Staunton, June 11 – Vladimir Putin has made the promotion of Russian patriotism the centerpiece of his ideological efforts, but a new poll by VTsIOM taken on the eve of the Day of Russia, found that the share of Russians who say they are “definitely” patriotic has fallen from 84 percent in 2000 to only 46 percent now (wciom.ru/index.php?id=236&uid=10324).

            To be sure, in the latest survey, 43 percent said they were more patriotic than not, hardly a ringing declaration; but only two percent said they definitely were not patriots with six percent more saying they were more unpatriotic than patriotic, relatively small numbers relative to the total of 87 percent who are at least generally patriotic.

            The share of those who said they were ready to defend Russia from any attack rose from a quarter to a third of the same; but at the same time, 2.5 more Russians now say they are prepared “to speak the truth about their country however bitter it may be” than were when Putin first became president.

            Asked what had made them proud to be Russians during the last 20 years, Russians said first the annexation of Crimea (16 percent), the Sochi Olympics (10 percent), and the development of the armed forces (nine percent), all things Putin pushed but levels of patriotic inspiration far less than he almost certainly wants.