Almost 90% of Russians Think Start of Nuclear War in 2-3 Years Unlikely, Survey Shows

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Almost 90% of Russians believe the start of a nuclear war in the next two to three years is unlikely, a survey by the Russian Public Opinion Research Centre (VTsIOM) found.

"The overwhelming majority of Russians (86%) consider a nuclear war an unlikely event in the next 2-3 years. The opposite was stated by 7% of respondents," VTsIOM reported.

Of those surveyed, 30% said that a nuclear war is "beyond belief" and 56% said it is "unlikely;" on the other hand, 6% of people surveyed said they believe a nuclear war may occur, and 1% of participants said they are "almost sure" of it. The remaining 7% of participants said they were unsure of their answer.

VTsIOM highlighted that an equal percentage of participants, 49%, said they are more or less worried about the threat of nuclear war or are not worried at all.

"Every second Russian believes that preserving and building up the nuclear potential of [Russia] will rather help preserve peace (54%). Over a third of participants said the opposite (34%)," the survey added.

Moreover, despite the beginning of global nuclear disarmament in 1962, 71% of Russians think their country needs to preserve its existing nuclear arsenal while 16% of participants support the continuation of disarmament.

The study was conducted on 4 September among 1,600 adults by telephone. VTsIOM is Russia's oldest polling institution, which was established in 1987, and is one of Russia's leading sociological and market research companies.