A minority of Ukrainians still hold pro-Soviet views despite war, sociologist says
Resident of Kherson (Photo:REUTERS/Murad Sezer/File Photo)
3-5% of Ukrainian citizens will forever keep pro-Russian or pro-Soviet views, Oleksiy Antypovych, director of the Rating Sociological Group, said in an interview with Radio NV on Dec. 9. A decade ago, an absolute majority of Ukrainians had a positive attitude toward Russians, he noted.
Ukrainians, influenced by wartime realities, stopped identifying themselves with their Soviet past such as: “well, it wasn’t all black and white, after all,” Antypovych said, adding that processes of de-Sovietization are unfolding on a greater scale.
The expert also called Ukrainian attitudes towards Russia and the Russians the key characteristic of the transformation of Ukrainian society.
With the start of the initial Russian invasion in 2014, it was 50% against 50%.
“With every year, this share was shrinking, and now we have a mere 3% of the population with positive attitudes towards Russians,” he noted.
“That’s a drastic change,” added the sociologist.
This minority is likely to continue holding such views, because “if (massacres) Bucha, Irpin and Mariupol did not change them, then nothing will change them, not even a nuclear threat,” Antypovych explained.
In August, according to a Rating Group survey, the attitude of Ukrainians towards the Russians and Belarusians deteriorated. At that time, 81% of the Ukrainians felt negative towards Russians and 52% towards Belarusians.
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