Russians' attitude to Caucasus changes for better

According to a survey conducted by the Levada Center, Russians' attitude to the situation in the North Caucasus has changed for the better. The poll was held on June 19-22.

Only 16% of the respondents agreed that spending budget money in the North Caucasus Federal District is less efficient than in other regions. 15% of the respondents said that this money wad stolen. Two years ago, in 2013, 47% said this.

37% of respondents said that the funds are used as effectively (22%) or more effectively (15%) than in other regions (in 2013 it was a total of 27%). 28% were undecided (in 2013 it was 21%). 4% of respondents stated about a higher cost efficiency than in other regions.

48% of the respondents said that the level of terrorism has fallen in the last 10 years (in 2013 - 40%). 29% believe that it has remained the same (in 2013 - 33%), and 10% believe it has increased (in 2013 - 19%). 13% were undecided. 20% of respondents have no concerns about the spread of terrorism from the North Caucasus to other parts of the country. (in 2013 it was 12%). 32% of the respondents are worried about this situation seriously (in 2013 - 49%), 9% did not think about it (in 2013 - 6%), and 4% of the respondents were undecided.

The head of Ingushetia, Yunus-bek Yevkurov, commenting on the economic part of the survey, explained the better attitude of Russians to the activities of the authorities of subjects of the Russian Federation, which are the members of the North Caucasus Federal District, first and foremost by a change of the informational background – the famous slogan 'Stop feeding the Caucasus' has disappeared. "The second reason is the effectiveness of the authorities in the Caucasus. The North Caucasus is one of ten or twenty of the most successful regions in investment attractiveness, the use of budget funds and fulfillment of social obligations to its citizens," Yevkurov said.

"The third reason is the work with the media. We are holding quite serious large-scale events in the district, demonstrating our success in the federal mass media. You see the opening of facilities, roads, infrastructure," he added.

According to him, the key reason is the approach to the management efficiency in the North Caucasus Federal District of the Plenipotentiary of the Representative of Russian President in the district, Sergey Melikov, and his team. "They are doing everything possible to raise the image of North Caucasus Federal District, not only in words or through the Internet. The Ministry for the North Caucasus monitors us in this issue, constantly keeps us in good shape. We report to the government on the effectiveness of our spending of budget funds and projects and programs in the North Caucasus," Yunus-bek Yevkurov concluded.

The political scientist Alan Kasaev agreed that currently there is a change of vector in the image assessment of the Caucasus. "These changes indicate, firstly, that the majority of Russians today don't have any concerns about the Caucasus, and, secondly, that the heads of the subjects of the North Caucasus republics and Stavropol Territory are achieving the goal of improving the image of the North Caucasus in Russia," he said.

"The vector of public negativity has switched. A few years ago, it played a decisive role in Russians' relation to the North Caucasus Federal District, today this vector is mainly directed outside of the Russian Federation, the Western countries cause the greatest negativity. I think that Ukraine occupies second place," Alan Kasaev said.

"The slogan 'Stop feeding the Caucasus' was artificial. None of the Russian public really knows who feeds whom, and today, of course, still does not know," the analyst concluded.