GfK Ukraine, the authoritative market research institute, has presented results of the first global social survey, conducted in Crimea after its annexation, on Feb. 4.
According to survey, 82
percent of Crimean citizens fully support the accession of the peninsula to the
Russian Federation. However, experts claim, the respondents could hardly answer
survey questions frankly, as it threatens them with persecution, denunciations,
jail.
The survey was held
commissioned by the Berta Communication company with financial support of
Canada Fund for Local Initiatives for the Free Crimea project.
GfK chose the telephone
interview-method to survey 800 Crimean respondents from cities with population
over 20,000, except Sevastopol, disconnected from Ukrtelecom fixed-line telephone
network since the peninsula’s annexation.
“We have held survey
this way, as the cell-phones are much easier tapped, while the private survey-method
on the Crimea territory could have put in jeopardy our staff”, said the Deputy
Director of GfK Glib Vyshlinsky.
At first sight, the
survey results are indeed sorrowful for Ukraine, especially in the field of
information war. Thus nearly half of respondents believe that the Ukrainian
media reported completely false information about Crimea.
At the same time 85
percent of Crimea citizens watch Russian TV-channels at least once a week, and
the most popular social networks are Russian Vkontakte and Odnoklassniki. Even
among Ukrainian TV channels respondents mostly prefer Inter, which is owned by
the Ukrainian oligarch Dmytro Firtash and was repeatedly criticized
for pro-Russian policy by Telekritika, Ukrainian media analytical company.
On the other hand,
experts warn, survey results should not be overemphasized. Political expert of
Crimean Institute of Strategic Studies Serhii Kostynskyi suggest residents of
annexed Crimea are not able to express themselves freely.
Thus according to the article 128.1
of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, anti-government statements can
be regarded as slander, that punished with a fine of up to 5 million rubles
($75,000), or by compulsory works for a term of up to 480 hours.
“Crimea residents are living in the
antiutopian atmosphere of famous George Orwell`s novel ‘1984’. People are
scared infinitely and suspect each other of treason” said director of Free
Crimea project Taras Berezovets.
Anyway, such social and political
attitude of Crimea residents is an alarm for Ukrainian government, which acts
too passively concerning Crimea liberation, experts claim. According to
Kostynskyi, particular measures must be taken not to lose the Crimea finally.
“Government should create a ministry
for the return of the Crimea and also ratify the Rome Statute – the document,
which will let Ukraine to raise Crimea issue in international level”,
Kostynskyi added.
Meanwhile, ethnic Ukrainians, Tatars,
as well as economically mobile population are leaving peninsula swiftly.
“Only 13 percent of our survey
respondents are Ukrainians, and 2 percent are Tatars, as Russians are 77
percent. And yet not even a year passed since Crimea was annexed on March, 16.
The refugee issue is still actual”, commented Vyshlinsky.
Kyiv Post staff
writer Kostiantyn Yanchenko can be reached at [email protected].
