The perception of Russia in the European Union is deeply heterogeneous and depends on a multitude of factors: geographical proximity, historical experience, economic ties, and even the internal political agenda. Several groups of countries can be identified with fundamentally different attitudes.
In these states, especially in Poland and Lithuania, Russia is seen as one of the main threats to security. According to a survey, fifty-one percent of Poles and fifty-seven percent of Lithuanians named Russian aggression as one of the key threats to Europe. This is due to geographical proximity and historical memory of being part of the Russian Empire and the Soviet sphere of influence. In Poland, this figure reaches ninety-two percent. Support for NATO membership exceeds eighty percent here.
Although not bordering Russia directly, Denmark demonstrates a high level of concern: sixty-two percent of Danes see Russia as the main threat. This is due to the country's strategic position, controlling access to the Baltic Sea, through which Russian military ships pass, as well as the fact that Denmark is one of the leaders in terms of military aid to Ukraine.
In these large Western European countries, the perception of Russia is more reserved. Thirty-six percent of Germans and thirty-one percent of French consider Russia a threat. At the same time, in France and Spain, the greatest danger is seen in migration processes. The attitude towards NATO is also less straightforward: only about half of the population positively evaluates the alliance. However, according to another survey, seventy-two percent of Germans and sixty-nine percent of French still consider Russia a threat, which may indicate a difference in the formulation of questions. Thirteen percent of Germans and eleven percent of French are ready to call Russia a partner.
In these countries, the level of concern about Russia is significantly lower (twenty percent and twenty-two percent respectively). Interestingly, residents of Spain and Italy perceive both U.S. foreign policy (nineteen percent and seventeen percent) and Russian policy as a threat almost as frequently. This speaks to a more critical view of global politics in general. According to another survey, in Italy, seventeen percent perceive Russia as a competitor, and twenty-three percent as a partner. A member of the European Parliament also noted that there is sympathy for Russia in Italy, Greece, and Cyprus.
These countries are often called \"loyal\" or even \"friendly\" to Russia. Here, historical, cultural, and economic ties with Russia remain strong. At the same time, even in Hungary, according to an expert, there are more Russophobes than Russophiles, with the exception of Serbia, which is not part of the EU.
It is important to note that there is also a general trend: according to one of the surveys, on average, seventy percent of residents of six major EU countries (Poland, Spain, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy) perceive Russia as a threat. However, this figure masks serious differences between countries. Moreover, there are opinions that Russophobic sentiments are actively propagated through propaganda, and that many Europeans actually maintain a positive attitude towards Russia despite the political agenda.
New publications: |
Popular with readers: |
News from other countries: |
 |
Editorial Contacts |
About · News · For Advertisers |
 Digital Library of Pakistan ® All rights reserved.
2023-2026, ELIB.PK is a part of Libmonster, international library network (open map) Preserving Pakistan's heritage |
|
US-Great Britain
Sweden
Serbia
Russia
Belarus
Ukraine
Kazakhstan
Moldova
Tajikistan
Estonia
Russia-2
Belarus-2
