Pride and admiration are the key emotions felt by most Russians when they see the country’s national symbols, and the number of people sharing this view has risen over the past ten years, a survey conducted by the Russian Public Opinion Research Center in the run-up to Russian Flag Day showed.
According to the survey, the country’s key symbols for Russians are the national flag, the state emblem and the national anthem. They were mentioned by 46% of those polled in 2017. In 2014, this figure was 57% and a year later - 40%.
The second most popular answer to the question "What is the personification of Russia for you?" in 2017, just as two years earlier, the answer was "the people, its unity and solidarity" (8% of the respondents). The bear takes third place among Russia’s symbols, according to the pollster, mentioned by 6% of the respondents in both 2017 and 2015. Next on the list are the Motherland, "strength, power and greatness," along with the Kremlin and Red Square.
The main feelings our fellow countrymen get upon seeing the country’s national symbols are pride and admiration. The poll showed that this is precisely what 71% of the respondents feel when they see the Russian flag, 72% upon looking at the state emblem and 75% when they hear the Russian national anthem. At the same time, "the total share of the respondents who expressed negative emotions towards state symbols does not exceed 5%," TASS cited the pollster as saying.
The poll was conducted by the Russian Public Opinion Research Center on August 15-16, 2017, among Russians aged over 18 with 1,200 people interviewed over the phone. The margin of error holds a probability of 95% and does not exceed 3.5%.
