By mid-February, even before the start of the “special operation” and the further escalation of the conflict, there was a notable deterioration of people’s attitude towards Western countries. Regular measurements of public opinion recorded an increase in negativity towards the United States, the EU and Germany. In relation to the UK negative sentiments are also prevailing. Representatives of the older generation have the worst attitude towards these countries. The survey was conducted on February 17-21.

The attitude of Russians towards the United States worsened after the improvement in sentiment, which lasted for six months. The attitude towards the United States returned to the level of May 2021: the share of positive assessments was about a third (31%) of respondents, negative – 55%. At the same time, back in November last year, 45% of Russians treated the United States “well”, and 42% – “bad”.

Attitude to the US

Younger generations have the best attitude towards the US: 60% of respondents aged 18-24 and 38% aged 25-39. The following age groups are the worst: 31% of respondents aged 40-54 are positive, 57% are negative; 21% of respondents 55 years and older are positive, 57% are negative.

After the improvement of the attitude towards the European Union in the second half of last year, in February there was a sharp drop in sentiment: in November last year 48% treated the EU well, 38% treated it badly, then in February this year, on the contrary, 37% treated it well, 48% treated it badly.

Attitude to the EU

The age distribution repeats the nature of the attitude towards the United States. Young people aged 18-24 have the best attitude towards the European Union (60%), the worst – respondents 55 years and older (24% positive, 60% negative).

In relation to the UK, negative assessments still prevail: in February 2022, it reached 37%; also, the share of negative assessments was 45%.

The attitude of representatives of age groups to the UK repeats the situation with the two previous countries. Among the youngest categories – 18-24 years old and 25-39 years old – a positive attitude towards the United Kingdom prevails: 60% and 47% respectively. The largest share of negative assessments is distributed among respondents aged 55 years and older: a fifth (23%) is good, 57% is bad.

The deterioration of the attitude towards Germany continued. If in February 2011, when 84% of Russians treated Germany well, then in February 2022 only about half of the respondents (53%) were already negative – 30%.

A positive attitude towards Germany prevails among all age groups. The largest share (72%). Those who treat Germany well are distributed among Russians aged 18-24.

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