More than half, or 51.1 percent of more than 2,000 Ukrainians polled in November 2016 see Russians as a “brotherly people,” compared to 62 percent polled in April 2014, according to a survey conducted by the Kyiv-based Razumkov Center think tank.
The opposite opinion is held by 33.8 percent of those polled, compared to 28 percent in April 2014. The remaining respondents had difficulty answering the question.
In western Ukraine, faith in “brotherly peoples” was supported by 28 percent (rejected by 61.8 percent), in the center – by 41.2 percent (rejected by 36.1 percent), in the south – by 60.5 percent (rejected by 14.9 percent), in the east – by 87.1 percent (rejected by 6.5 percent), where as in Donbas 54.9 percent believe Russians are a “brotherly people,” with 36 percent rejecting this point of view.
Asked whether Ukrainians and Russians are “one people” or “two peoples,” 25.6 percent agreed with the former and 63.4 percent supported the latter. The remainder had difficulty answering this question.
In western Ukraine the percentage viewing Ukrainians and Russians as “one people” was supported by 9.5 percent (rejected by 85.3 percent), in central Ukraine – 16.8 percent (rejected by 67.2 percent), in southern Ukraine – 39.1 percent (rejected by 45.1 percent), in the east – 45.3 percent (rejected by 46.6 percent) and in Donbas – 34.2 percent (rejected by 57.9 percent).
Volyn, Zakarpattia, Ivano-Frankvisk, Lviv, Rivne, Ternopil and Chernivtsi regions are regarded as western Ukraine. Vinnytsia, Zhytomyr, Kyiv, Kirovohrad, Poltava, Sumy, Khmelnytsky, Cherkasy, Chernihiv regions are regarded as central Ukraine. The regions of Mykolaiv, Odesa, Kherson make up the country’s south, with Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhia, Kharkiv regions comprising eastern Ukraine. Areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions controlled by Kyiv are regarded as Donbas.
The survey was conducted by the sociological service of the Kyiv-based Razumkov Center think tank from Nov. 18 to Nov. 23, 2016 in all regions of Ukraine, except Crimea and occupied areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Some 2,015 Ukrainians over the age of 18 participated. The theoretical margin of error of the poll does not exceed 2.3 percent.
