This survey was conducted August 20–26, 2020, among a representative sample of all Russian urban and rural residents. The sample was comprised of 1601 people aged 18 or older in 137 municipalities of 50 regions of the Russian Federation. The survey was conducted as a personal interview in respondents’ homes. The answer distribution is presented as percentages of the total number of participants along with data from previous surveys.

The statistical error of these studies for a sample of 1600 people (with a probability of 0.95) does not exceed:

3.4% for indicators around 50%
2.9% for indicators around 25%/75%
2.0% for indicators around 10%/90%
1.5% for indicators around 5%/95%

The results of public opinion research demonstrating Ukrainian residents’ attitudes towards Russia are from the Kiev International Institute of Sociology (KIIS).

Surveys are usually carried out in the same month, but sometimes there is a 1–2 month difference between the fieldwork done in both countries. The Levada Center presented its questions in August 2020 (for comparability of charts, we marked them as September), while KIIS surveyed in September 2020 (2000 people were surveyed September 12–16, 2020).

This time, the difference in survey methods should be taken into account and demands further study: the Levada Center conducted surveys as personal interviews (face-to-face), while KIIS used computer-assisted telephone interviews (CATI).

Survey results indicate an improvement in Russians’ attitudes towards Ukraine in August 2020, as compared with the previous sample in January 2020. However, the total growth by 6 percentage points does not currently allow us to make conclusions about a radical change in Russian public opinion or the sustainability of the growth of positive values (this requires additional data points). Nonetheless, data from other indicators, demonstrate an overall decrease of Russians’ negative perceptions of their primary “foreign political opponents”: the U.S., Ukraine, and Great Britain, which may indicate a waning interest in such a confrontational agenda among the population and a strong change in the event context capturing the attention of residents of the Russian federation (the Coronavirus pandemic).

 Ukrainian residents’ attitudes toward Russia from February to September 2020 worsened somewhat, but there is still a strong regional differentiation: positive attitudes are prevalent in Southern and Eastern Ukraine, and, conversely, negative attitudes are predominant among residents of Western and Central Ukraine (see KIIS press release for further details).

Half of Russian residents (51%) and half of Ukrainian residents (51%) believe that both states should be independent, but friendly (without visas or customs), and this number has not changed significantly in both countries in the last two years.

Previous joint studies by the Levada Center and KIIS:

Historical Memory
The Perception of Stalin
Russia-Ukraine Relations

IN GENERAL, WHAT IS YOUR CURRENT ATTITUDE TOWARD UKRAINE? (opinions of Russian residents — data from the Levada Center)

IN GENERAL, WHAT IS YOUR CURRENT ATTITUDE TOWARD RUSSIA? (opinions of Ukrainian residents — data from KIIS)

WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING OPINIONS CONCERNING RUSSIA’S RELATIONSHIP WITH UKRAINE DO YOU AGREE WITH MOST? (opinions of Russian residents — data from the Levada Center)

WHAT KIND OF RELATIONSHIP WOULD YOU LIKE UKRAINE TO HAVE WITH RUSSIA? (opinions of Ukrainian residents — data from KIIS)

Translated by Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey (formerly Monterey Institute of International Studies).

The ANO Levada Center has been included in the registry of non-commercial organizations acting as foreign agents. Read the Director of the Levada Center’s statement of disagreement with this decision here.