Better Relations With U.S. Not Top Priority for Russians

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Though U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin will not meet formally this week on the sidelines of the APEC summit, when they do meet, Russians would prefer Putin act firmly rather than try to improve relations. The majority of Russians (52%) say it is important for Russia to act firmly with the U.S., while 29% say it is important for Russia and the U.S. to have good relations. At the same time, only 7% say Russia should terminate all relations with the U.S.

	It is important for Russia to act firmly with the U.S.	It is important for Russia to have good relations with the U.S.	Russia should terminate all relations with the U.S.
	%	%	%
All Russians	52	29	7
Age
15-29	51	29	9
30-44	57	23	9
45-59	55	29	5
60+	45	38	3
Education
Primary education or less	38	30	12
Secondary education	53	29	7
Tertiary/College degree	60	30	3
Gallup World Poll, June 9-Aug. 20, 2017

Beginning his trip to Asia this week, Trump had said he expected to meet with Putin at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit to urge him to help resolve the crisis with North Korea. However, on Friday, the White House nixed a formal meeting, citing "scheduling conflicts." The meeting would have been the first between the two men since July.

Since then, Congress has imposed new sanctions on Russia to punish it for meddling in the 2016 U.S. election, and Moscow responded by expelling hundreds of U.S. diplomats -- increasingly straining relations. Gallup surveyed Russians this summer as these events unfolded and in the fallout afterward.

While the majority of Russians prefer a firm approach to dealing with the U.S., their attitudes differ by generation and by education, and not in the way that might be expected. Russians aged 60 and older -- most of whom lived through decades of the Cold War, when the U.S. was portrayed as their main enemy -- are the most likely of any age group to say that improving relations with the U.S. is important (38%). At the same time, support for acting firmly rises with education, reaching 60% among Russians with the highest level of education.

Few Russians Expect Relations to Get Worse Under Trump

While both Moscow and Washington had hoped to forge better relationships when Trump took office, most Russians now do not expect relations to get worse -- but they don't expect them to get better either. Given the state of relations before and since Trump became president, just 16% expect them to get worse under Trump. The remaining Russians are divided into three camps: those who say they don't know (30%), those who feel relations will stay the same (29%) and those who think relations will improve (25%).

	Strengthen	Remain the same	Weaken	Don't know/Refused
	%	%	%	%
All Russians	25	29	16	30
Age
15-29	30	31	17	23
30-44	23	30	18	30
45-59	23	30	13	33
60+	26	25	15	34
Education
Primary education or less	21	29	19	30
Secondary education	26	27	15	31
Tertiary/College degee	26	33	14	27
Gallup World Poll, June 9-Aug. 20, 2017

Unlike their views of their country's approach to relations with the U.S., key subgroups of Russians are fairly unified in their expectations for future relations under Trump. There are no major differences by demographic group.

Nearly Half of Russians Have No Opinion of Trump

Even though news about Trump and Russia has made headlines from day one of his presidency, less than a year into his first term, he is still somewhat of an "unknown" in Russia. Nearly half of Russians (48%) do not know enough about Trump to rate the job he is doing as president of the U.S. However, those who do have an opinion are slightly more likely to disapprove (30%) than to approve (22%).

	Approve	Disapprove	Don't know/Refused
	%	%	%
All Russians	22	30	48
Age
15-29	31	31	38
30-44	22	32	46
45-59	20	30	50
60+	14	27	59
Education
Primary education or less	24	33	43
Secondary education	20	30	50
Tertiary/College degree	25	28	47
Gallup World Poll, June 9-Aug. 20, 2017

Americans, on the other hand, are very familiar with Russia's longtime president and hold him in even lower esteem than Russians do Trump. At roughly the same time the survey was conducted in Russia, Americans were being asked to rate Putin's favorability (rather than his job performance). At the time, just 13% viewed him favorably, and 74% viewed him unfavorably. The unfavorable rating this past summer was the highest in Gallup's trend.

Implications

If Putin and Trump do eventually meet formally, they will have much to discuss on both international and bilateral fronts. But if Putin does not attempt to mend relations with the U.S., it will likely not disappoint the majority of Russians, who prefer a firm approach. Further, it would likely live down to Russians' already low expectations, who for the most part don't think relations will get worse under Trump.