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Most Russians don’t have negative feelings towards other nationalities, poll indicates

At the same time, Russians also seek a tougher migration policy

MOSCOW, July 18. /TASS/. The majority of polled Russians don’t feel hostile to people of other nationalities or people who have come from other countries, Mikhail Mamonov, a senior researcher from the nation’s leading polling agency said, citing the results of a July survey involving 1,600 adult Russians.

"As many as 81% of those surveyed told us that they do not have negative feelings towards representatives of other nationalities around them. At the same time, 50% stated unconditionally that they do not experience negative emotions," Mikhail Mamonov from the Russian Public Opinion Research Center said.

According to the survey, 81% of respondents also don’t feel dislike for those who came from other countries. At the same time, 45% of the surveyed people said they definitely did not have such a feeling, while 36% said they rather didn’t feel that way. Social scientists also explain this attitude to migrants by "the Russian tradition of social interaction and social acceptance of people of other nationalities".

As many as 79% of Russians assess relations between people of different ethnicities as kind or calm and conflict-free, the survey suggests. "We can unequivocally state a high level of interethnic harmony," said Mamonov, who heads the pollster’s political research department.

According to him, in general, Russians realize the advantages that the multinational status gives Russia. "About 60% in our survey said that Russia's multinational status makes it stronger. Only seven percent of Russians are of the opposite view," Mamonov went on to say.

At the same time, Russians also seek a tougher migration policy. "We see this request. And it is focused around strict rules, migrants' compliance with the traditions and customs of the indigenous population, as well as the inevitability of punishment for violations," Mamonov said. He specified that a low index of interethnic tension is recorded now. "It is about 20% today, which allows us to describe interethnic relations in our country as rather calm," the expert said.