Poll: Majority of Americans Have Unfavorable View of Russia
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Jon Schulte/Thinkstock(WASHINGTON) — For better or worse, Russia has been in the news a lot lately so Gallup decided to poll Americans’ attitudes about the one-time head state of the former Soviet Union and its controversial president, Vladimir Putin.
Whatever it is they’re doing, Russia and Putin aren’t doing it right, based on the overwhelmingly negative responses to the survey.
Six in ten Americans have a unfavorable view of Russia, the most expressing this opinion since 1994. Meanwhile, just 34 percent said they look upon Russia favorably, close to the all-time low of 33 percent in 1999.
Putin actually fares worse than his country in the Gallup survey of more than 1,000 Americans. He records his all-time worst marks since first elected president in 1999 with only 19 percent seeing him favorably while 64 percent hold the opposite view.
Perhaps it’s not all that surprising that U.S. attitudes about Russia have soured over time, given that Washington and Moscow don’t see eye-to-eye about Syria, Iran, gay rights, National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden and a host of other issues.
The Sochi Olympics, or at least the village where the games are being held, probably hasn’t bolstered good impressions of Russia either.
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