MOSCOW, September 5. /TASS/. More than four-fifths of Russians (82%) feel certain that the government can protect the population from potential terrorist attacks, a poll conducted by the Russian Public Opinion Research Center showed on Tuesday.

"Confidence in the ability of Russia’s authorities to protect the population from terrorist attacks in the future continues to rise. In August, the corresponding figure reached 68 points, which set a record high in the survey’s history. More than three-quarters of (Russia’s) citizens (82%) believe that the authorities will be able to protect the population from potential attacks," the pollster said.

The index calculated the difference between positive and negative answers to the following question: "Do you think the Russian authorities will be able to protect Russia’s population from new terrorist attacks?" The higher the index, the higher the confidence.

According to the survey, today the population’s fears associated with a terrorist threat are lower than last spring. "The fear index fell from 51 points in April (according to a poll conducted after the St. Petersburg subway terror attack) to 41 points in August," the pollster noted.

On the other hand, two-thirds of those polled (66%) expressed fears to a greater or lesser degree that they or their loved ones could become victims of a terrorist attack, while every fourth respondent considered the Islamic State (IS, terror group, outlawed in Russia) the chief source of that potential threat.

The survey was conducted on August 26-27, with 1,200 people interviewed over the phone. The margin of error does not exceed 3.5%.