More than one quarter of Russian residents still view Europe as an important partner and believe that the relations between Russia and the EU should be strengthened, a recent survey of Levada Center showed.
According to deputy director of the center Alexei Grazhdankin, Russians feel that Europe is beginning to have a negative attitude towards Russia, but "in the depths of their consciousness they understand that this is a temporary and superficial feeling."
The relations between the West and Russia started to deteriorate after the beginning of the Ukrainian crisis. This has also had a corresponding effect on the minds of European and Russian residents.
The number of Russians who believe in the possibility of friendly relations with the West has decreased by more than half over the last 16 years. Respondents believe that Europe sees Russia as a raw material appendage of the West (33%), a potential military adversary (30%) or "undeveloped, unpredictable and aggressive country" (27%).
