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Viewing cable 08STPETERSBURG148, ST. PETERSBURGERS HESITANT TO LABEL U.S. AN ALLY, POLL

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
08STPETERSBURG148 2008-08-05 13:41 2011-08-24 01:00 UNCLASSIFIED Consulate St Petersburg
R 051341Z AUG 08
FM AMCONSUL ST PETERSBURG
TO SECSTATE WASHDC 2590
INFO AMEMBASSY MOSCOW 
AMCONSUL YEKATERINBURG 
AMCONSUL VLADIVOSTOK 
AMEMBASSY TALLINN 
AMEMBASSY RIGA 
AMEMBASSY VILNIUS 
AMEMBASSY KYIV 
AMEMBASSY HELSINKI 
AMEMBASSY BEIJING 
AMEMBASSY BERLIN 
AMEMBASSY TOKYO 
AMCONSUL ST PETERSBURG
UNCLAS ST PETERSBURG 000148 
 
STATE FOR EUR/RUS, INR/REE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV KPAO KDEM RS
SUBJECT: ST. PETERSBURGERS HESITANT TO LABEL U.S. AN ALLY, POLL 
SHOWS 
 
REF: ST. PETERSBURG 082 
 
 
1. Summary. According to a recent poll, only a minority of St. 
Petersburg residents consider the U.S. to be a "friend" of 
Russia, while the perception that China is a close Russian ally 
is quickly growing.  At the same time, however, a majority of 
residents now deem the U.S. to be closer to a friend of Russia 
than an enemy in a significant shift over the last six years. 
The poll's lead researcher told us that negative attitudes could 
be attributed to lingering cold war animosity, while exchange 
and travel to the U.S. were positively influencing opinions, an 
idea borne out by our research (See reftel). End Summary. 
 
2. In June 2008 the Agency for Social Information, a respected 
independent research organization, polled 500 area residents on 
their attitudes towards foreign nations.  According to the 
results, just 34 percent of St. Petersburgers believe the U.S. 
is a friendly nation vis-`-vis Russia, down from 39 percent in 
2002.  In more encouraging news, the percentage of residents who 
consider the US to be either "friendly" or "friendlier than 
hostile" increased from 48 percent in 2002 to 57 percent in 
2008.  The rise is linked with an 11 percent drop in locals who 
are neutral in their opinions of the U.S., decreasing from 31 
percent in 2002 to 20 percent in 2008. 
 
3. Meanwhile, eight percent of respondents view the U.S. as 
Russia's enemy. This figure is up two percent from 2002, which 
falls within the survey's standard error.  The percentage of 
those who consider the U.S. to be more hostile to Russia than it 
is friendly remained constant at 16 percent. 
 
4. In contrast, a majority (62 percent) of residents consider 
China to be a solid ally of Russia, with just less than 2 
percent viewing it as an adversary.  Perceptions of China 
changed significantly from 2002 to 2008 during which the 
percentage of Petersburgers who believed China to be either 
friendly or friendlier than not jumped from 54 to 77 percent. 
Only 5.8 percent of those polled felt China to be more hostile 
to Russia than friendly. 
 
5. The country enjoying the highest regard as an ally among 
Petersburgers is neighboring Finland at 83.3 percent. The 
majority of respondents (69 percent) also viewed Japan and 
Germany more favorably than not.  Iraq, on the other hand, 
received the lowest results with just 30.5 percent viewing the 
country as Russia's ally and 2.7 percent believing that Iraq is 
an enemy. 
 
6. The poll did not query for explanations of respondents' 
views, and the lead sociologist at the research institute was 
hesitant to draw conclusions from the results.  However, he told 
us that in his opinion a cold-war hangover among senior citizens 
and their influence on their grandchildren, whom they often help 
raise due to working parents, might explain the relatively high 
"enemy" rating for the U.S.  On the other hand, he speculated 
that increased travel by locals to the U.S. has engendered 
positive attitudes towards the country, and he stressed that 
more cultural and people-to-people exchanges were important to 
overcome differences. Concerning local media, he conceded that 
the press plays a role in shaping opinions, but did not say to 
what extent. 
 
7. Comment. The poll reveals a St. Petersburg society divided in 
its opinion of the U.S.  The survey, however, falls short of 
exploring the complexity of driving factors behind the current 
trends.  If true that views of area youth are being negatively 
prejudiced by nostalgic grandparents, our research shows that 
growing travel to the U.S. among young people is counteracting 
this bias.  In Post's questioning of returned Summer Work and 
Travel participants, the vast majority said their U.S. 
experience and interaction with Americans positively influenced 
their opinion of the country, an indication that 
people-to-people contact can indeed play a constructive role in 
creating positive attitudes towards the U.S. End Comment. 
 
 
GREENBERG