18% of Russians consider that country’s influence in Moldova increases

The Russian Federation strengthens its positions in Moldova. This is the opinion of 18% of the respondents of an opinion poll conducted in Russia by the Russian Public Opinion Foundation. The purpose of the survey is to study the Russians’ opinion towards the changes taking place in the former USSR republics. According to the poll’s results, about 30% consider that Russia loses its positions in Moldova, while another 30% consider they are remaining constant. According to the survey, most of the Russians think that their state’s positions grow weak in the Baltic countries and Georgia (7 and 9% respectively). On the other hand 39% of the respondents consider that Moscow’s positions are strengthening in Kazakhstan. About 52% think that Russia loses influence in Belarus. 34% believe that Russia’s positions in the states of the former soviet bloc are strengthening, while 44 have an opposite opinion. About one third of survey’s participants consider that former soviet countries would never become Russia’s allies and more than a half believe that a potential alliance remains an option. 25% think that their country should strive to dominate former soviet countries, while 2two thirds consider that the relations with these states should be similar to those with the other countries. 1600 respondents, from 153 Russian settlements participated in the poll. Authors estimated a sampling error of 3.4%.