MOSCOW - Most Russians polled by the Levada Center (86 percent) said they support the joining of Crimea to Russia, against 90 percent in May and 88 percent in March, the Levada Center told Interfax on Nov. 10.
The poll conducted by the Levada Center on Oct. 24-27, which surveyed 1,600 people living in 130 populated areas of Russia, shows that only 9 percent of the respondents disapprove of the joining. Another 5 percent could not state their opinion on the matter.
The most frequent argument in favor of the joining of Crimea to Russia is that “Crimea is Russian land” (74 percent).
Thirty-six percent of the respondents said residents of Crimea “could have been subjected to violence by Ukrainian radical activists if Crimea had not joined Russia,” and 16 percent believe “Crimea would have been forcibly ‘Ukrianianized’.”
Their opponents, for their part, say the joining of Crimea to Russia has affected stability in the region (58 percent) and caused the Western sanctions (23 percent).
