site.bta After Crimea and Ukraine, Half of Bulgarians Still with Positive Attitude towards Russia - Survey

After Crimea and Ukraine, Half of Bulgarians Still with Positive Attitude towards Russia - Survey

Sofia, March 16 (BTA) - Bulgarians continue to like Russia,
although they do not believe it could be their model for
development or offer more reliable guarantees for prosperity and
 security than EU and NATO membership, according to a nationally
 representative poll by Alpha Research that looked at the public
 attitudes to the conflict in Ukraine. The survey was
commissioned by the European Council on Foreign Relations and
was taken between February 23 and March 4, 2015, among 1,000
adult respondents across the country.
 
Even after the annexation of Crimea and the conflict in Ukraine,
 many Bulgarians have preserved their fondness for Russia. 54
per cent report no change in their attitude to that country and
another 7 per cent say they sympathize with it even more.
Russia's actions in this conflict elicit a negative response
among 40 per cent of Bulgarians; 9 per cent say their attitude
to Russia was negative even before the conflict and 30 per cent
have changed their attitude due to Russia's policy in Ukraine. 

The analysts summarize that just in a year Russia has managed to
 cause in otherwise friendly Bulgaria four times more attitude
changes in a negative direction (among 30 per cent of the
respondents) than in a positive direction (7 per cent). The main
 social groups where Russia's image has deteriorated include the
 citizens of the capital, and particularly respondents aged
between 18 and 30, while older people above 60 remain the core
of support for Russian policies. 

Although traditionally reserved towards military alliances, the
majority of Bulgarians support their country's membership in
NATO. For 42 per cent of the interviewees, Bulgaria's
participation in the Alliance is important for Bulgaria's
security and defence, while 22 per cent think it is detrimental;
 53 per cent think that Bulgaria should fulfil all its
obligations as a loyal member of the Alliance, 32 per cent -
that it may waive some of them depending on the situation and
just 14 per cent - that it should not and should better leave
NATO.

On the backdrop of the support for Bulgaria's EU and NATO
membership, Bulgaria's position on the conflict in Ukraine is
mostly approved. Three-fourths (74 per cent) believe that
Bulgaria's policy is moderate and balanced, 12 per cent - that
it is too aggressive (and one of the "hawks" in the EU), and 10
per cent are of the opposite opinion (that it is too supportive
of Russia and is not a loyal EU and NATO member).
 
The majority of Bulgarians (61 per cent) do not support new
sanctions against Russia against 39 per cent who support them.

A total of 63 per cent would vote in favour of preserving the EU
 and NATO orientation of the country at a hypothetical
referendum, against 33 percent in favour of turning to Russia
and its Eurasian union. 

Attitudes remain practically the same compared to April 2014.
The pro-European orientation and support for EU policy prevails
in all educational and age groups. The group that favours a
foreign political alliance around Russia includes the supporters
 of the Bulgarian Socialist Party, ABV and Ataka. In all three
groups of supporters, some 35 to 38 per cent are in favour of EU
 membership against 59 to 62 per cent in favour of a union with
Russia. The opinion and number of these groups has not changed
in a year.

A new trend identified by the pollsters is the emergence of
"extreme political Russophiles" (about 6 to 8 per cent) who
unconditionally support Russia's policy to the degree where they
 tend to give it a priority above national interests.

The powerful figures who are seen as being capable of bringing
about a positive outcome of the Ukraine-Russia conflict are
Russian President Vladimir Putin (51 per cent), German
Chancellor Angela Merkel (31 per cent), and United States
President Barack Obama (25 per cent). The EU and its leaders
seem to be absent here and only 2 and 4 per cent of the
respondents mention European Council President Donald Tusk,
European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, or the High
Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security
Policy, Federica Mogherini.

Bulgaria's geographical location, the military conflicts not far
 from its northern and southern borders, as well as the
terrorist attacks across the world in recent months are a cause
of concern among Bulgarians. 75 per cent of respondents consider
 the actions of the Islamic State and other terrorist groups to
be a greater threat to peace than the Russia-Ukraine conflict.