Better relations with U.S. not top priority for Russians
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29% say it is important for Russia and the U.S. to have good relations. At the same time, only 7% say Russia should terminate all relations with the U.S., according to Gallupp.
While the majority of Russians prefer a firm approach to dealing with the U.S., their attitudes differ by generation and by education, and not in the way that might be expected.
Russians aged 60 and older - most of whom lived through decades of the Cold War, when the U.S. was portrayed as their main enemy - are the most likely of any age group to say that improving relations with the U.S. is important (38%).
At the same time, support for acting firmly rises with education, reaching 60% among Russians with the highest level of education.
Most Russians now do not expect relations to get worse - but they don't expect them to get better either.
Given the state of relations before and since Trump became president, just 16% expect them to get worse under Trump.
The remaining Russians are divided into three camps: those who say they don't know (30%), those who feel relations will stay the same (29%) and those who think relations will improve (25%). ■