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Poll indicates that pro-Russian sentiments have grown stronger

 

A recent poll by the Vilnius-based Independent Institute of Social, Economic and Political Studies (IISEPS) found that pro-Russian sentiments in Belarus have become somewhat stronger.

To a question about a possible referendum on the unification of Belarus and Russia, 31.2 percent of those polled in June replied that they would vote “yes,” up from 28.1 percent in March, and 46.5 percent replied that they would vote “no,” down from 51.4 percent, the IISEPS press office told BelaPAN.

A total of 37.7 percent of all respondents said that they would vote for Belarus’ accession to the EU at a national referendum, down from 37.9 percent. The percentage of those opposing the proposal decreased from 39.2 to 38.1 percent.

When asked whether they would choose for joining Russia or the European Union at a possible referendum, 40.8 percent said that they would prefer Belarus to be part of Russia and 41 percent said that they would vote for joining the EU.

According to the press office, the poll also found that most residents of Belarus welcome the fact that a growing number of Russians are visiting the country. As many as 31.2 percent of the respondents said that the Russians are welcome to visit Belarus because the Belarusian and Russian nations are close to each other and roughly the same percentage of people replied that the more tourists a country attracts, the wealthier it becomes. At the same time, 29.5 percent said that they were indifferent to Russian visitors, 8.4 percent said that they disliked the behavior of Russians and did not want them to visit Belarus, and 7.8 percent said that they were displeased with Russians visiting Belarus because “they buy up our goods and housing.” //BelaPAN