MOSCOW, February 18. /TASS/. An overwhelming majority of Russians (81%) are confident that the Russian army will be able to protect them in case of military threat, according to opinion poll results conducted by Levada Center.
"Confidence in law enforcement and defense structures in general is growing, as is certainty that the Russian army is able to protect the homeland in case of a real military threat from other states. As of today, a total of 81% of respondents think so. In 2014, this figure was 60%," Karina Pipiya, a sociologist, told the Izvestia daily on Thursday.
According to the poll results, as many as 58% of the polled spoke in favor of general military duty and obligated service, a maximal figure over the entire period of such polls (since 1998). In 2014, forty percent of Russians answered that way. Slightly more than a third of respondents (37%) stick to an opposite viewpoint and favor a contract army (48% in 2014).
However, according to the sociologist, "the pyramid of assessments" is turned upside down among the youth aged from 18 to 24. Thus, 51% of the polled young people said the army should be formed on a contract basis whereas 47% are in favor of universal military duty.
Two thirds of the polled, or 65%, said they are sure there is a military threat to Russia from other countries (56% in 2014).
The poll was conducted in January 2016 in 137 settlements in 48 Russian regions and embraced 1,600 respondents.