Britain's View Of Russia - MORI reveals survey ahead of President Putin's visit

Russian President Vladimir Putins is starting to have a certain degree of recognition in Britain with nearly half (45%) able to name him as the Russian President, and most prominent spontaneous impressions of him are that he is a "good leader" and "good for Russia". These are the findings of new research from MORI, commissioned by the Russian Information Agency NOVOSTI ahead of Putin's visit to the UK later this month.

Culture is seen as one of Russia's strengths with three-quarters placing it in the 'top half' of a world league table, and 27% placing it as 'among the leaders'. Although the British rate their own country a little higher on this scale, the difference is not dramatic.

Do the British want to know more about Russia? We find two-thirds who say they would be interested in receiving more information -- particularly about Russian culture and travel/holidays.

Three-quarters of Britons are able to name at least one "famous Russian", though their distinction between "Russian" and "Soviet" is at times a little blurred. The four most frequently named are all political figures and one-time leaders: Stalin (born in Georgia) tops the list (and is more famous with the older generations). Second is Gorbachev, followed by Lenin and the current President, Putin.

When asked what they think about Russia, the most common associations include the cold weather (25%), politics (22%) and deprivation (17%). The next most common spontaneous associations include Moscow (10%), alcohol and crime (both eight per cent). As people, Russians are perceived as poor, hard working and friendly or simply as "ordinary/the same as everyone else".

Technical details

A nationally representative sample of 1,005 people was interviewed by telephone between 6-8 June 2003. Data have been weighted to reflect the population.

Topline Results

• Base: 1,005
• Fieldwork: 6-8 June 2003
• A nationally representative sample was interviewed, fieldwork was conducted by telephone. Data has been weighted to reflect the population.
• Please note all figures are expressed in percentage terms, where they do not sum to 100%, this will be due to either computer rounding, multiple response answers or a number of not stated answers. An asterisk (*) denotes a figure less than 0.5% but greater than zero.

I would now like to ask your opinion about Russia, we are interested in your ideas and impressions of both the country and the people who live there. First of all 0

Q1 What, if anything, comes to your mind when Russia is mentioned?

Q Please take a moment to think about famous Russians, we are including people both past and present and those famous for all reasons -- from politics and science to sports and the arts. Which famous Russians, if any, can you name?

Q3a Who, so far as you know, is currently President of Russia?

Q3b The current President of Russia is Vladimir Putin. I would like you tell me what impressions and ideas, if any, you have about him. We are interested in any impressions you may have about him, his concerns, his politics, his background or how he does his job.

Q4 Now, I would like you tell me what impressions and ideas, if any, you have about the ordinary Russian. We are interested in any impressions you may have about them, their concerns, their background or what sort of people you think they are.

Q5 Now, thinking about "Culture" -- by this I mean The Arts: literature, music, poetry, and intellectual thought). If all the countries of the world were lined up, according to their success in this arena, where, from the list I am about to read out, would you place Russia?

Q6 Still thinking about "Culture" -- (again The Arts: literature, music, poetry, and intellectual thought). If all the countries of the world were lined up, according to their success in this arena, where, from the list I am about to read out, would you place Great Britain?

Q7 What sort of information about Russia, if any, would you like to have more of?