Seventy-three percent of Russians fear falling victim to terror acts, and only 9% are sure that nothing of the sort will ever happen to them, Levada Center told Interfax on Sept.1.
Only 38% of the respondents said that law enforcers and security services were capable of protecting them from terrorists, and 62% voiced the opposite opinion.
Sixty-three percent said that Russia should continue police operations against militants and never negotiate with terrorists.
At the same time, 67% said that deaths must be avoided at any cost in the release of hostages, even if the authorities had to meet the demands of the hostage-takers. Twenty-two percent disagreed and said that the hostage takers must be killed no matter what.
The respondents were asked a separate question about the Beslan events, in which terrorists took over 1,000 people hostage in a school in September 2004. Forty-eight percent said that the authorities were telling only the partial truth about those events, which killed 330 people. Twenty-four percent accused the authorities of concealing the whole truth, 5% said that the public was misled deliberately, and 11% believed they had learned everything.
In the opinion of 49%, the authorities did their best to save the Beslan hostages, and 34% disagreed with that opinion.
The poll was held in 130 towns and cities in 45 regions.
