Regard Vladimir Putin Unfavorably
Thursday, September 29, 2011
While few Americans see Russia as an enemy of the United States, they still don't have high opinions of the man who will likely reclaim his role as its president.
The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of American Adults shows that only 11% share even a somewhat favorable opinion of Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. That includes just two percent (2%) who regard him Very Favorably. Fifty-two percent (52%) regard Putin unfavorably, with 23% who share a Very Unfavorable opinion of him. Another 36% don't have an opinion of Putin, who announced last weekend that he will seek his second term as president. (To see survey question wording, click here .)
Putin's ratings among Americans are better than they were in February 2007 , when 66% shared an unfavorable opinion of the Russian leader.
While only six percent (6%) of adults believe Russia is an ally of the United States, 16% say it is enemy. Most adults (66%) say Russia is somewhere in between an ally and an enemy. Another 12% are not sure. These findings have shifted little over the past year, but 27% felt Russia was an enemy in August 2009 .
At the same time, 78% of Americans regard Russo-American relations as being at least somewhat important, including 38% who say those relations are Very Important. Only 13% don't see U.S. relations with Russia as being as important.
Thirty-six percent (36%) believe Russia is a growing national security problem for the United States, while 25% disagree. A slight plurality (39%) is undecided on the question.
The national survey of 1,000 Adults was conducted on September 27-28, 2011 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC . See methodology .
In February 2008 , Putin threatened to target nuclear missiles at Ukraine if it joined the missile defense system the United States had been trying to establish in Eastern Europe. At that time, 18% of Americans were somewhat worried about a Russian attack on the United States while 76% were not.
Last year, voters consistently questioned whether Russia would honor the nuclear weapons agreement with the U.S., with pluralities believing it wouldn't.
Republicans have a more negative view of Putin than Democrats and adults not affiliated with either party do. Republicans are also much more likely to see Russia as a growing national security problem for the United States.
A majority of adults across virtually all demographic groups see U.S. relations with Russia as important.
Only 36% of Americans nationwide are following news about Putin at least somewhat closely, while most (62%) aren't following closely, if at all.
Only 20% of Americans are willing to come to Russia's defense militarily if it were attacked, putting it near the bottom of a list of countries America currently holds defense treaties with.