MOSCOW, August 13. /TASS/. Russians value religious feelings, tolerance and civility above freedom of speech, suggest opinion poll findings showing more than two-thirds rate tolerance in society ahead of unrestrained expression.

"Most respondents [68%] are sure that citizens’ first priority must be tolerance and civility, not freedom of speech," the Russian Public Opinion Research Center announced on Thursday after an April poll of 1,600 people across 46 Russian regions. Twenty-seven percent took an opposite view, the pollsters said.

Similar findings recorded 67% of respondents saying that those working in the world of art should not insult religious sensitivities by their creations, a figure rising to 77% among the older generation. A quarter of those questioned said they had witnessed religious feelings being insulted.