Why Russians are Losing Faith in Donald Trump

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When Donald Trump was running for the office of US President, many in Russia viewed him with cautious optimism. Many saw him as a breath of fresh air compared to the shocking level of Russophobia that underscored Barack Obama’s failed presidency, as well as that put forth in Hillary Clinton’s failed campaign. Recent polls found that this good will is starting to wear off, as Congress seems to be unwilling to let Trump even have the possibility to engage in meaningful détente with Russia. RT reported:

On Friday, state-run pollster VTsIOM reported that research from the end of July showed that 68 percent of Russians are aware of the new sanctions introduced against Moscow by the USA. 32 percent told researchers it this was the first time they had heard about the developments. In the same study, 48 percent of respondents said they expected the new restrictions to cause no changes in Russia’s policies or its relations with foreign nations. A little under a third (28 percent) said that the consequences of the sanctions could be negative, and 9 percent believed that Russia would actually benefit from them. In addition, 29 percent thought it is best to leave the new US sanctions without a reply, whilst 19 percent said they supported a symmetrical response and 9 percent admitted that although they considered reciprocal sanctions necessary, they couldn’t give any specific ideas for such steps. When asked about previous Western sanctions against Russia, 35 percent of respondents said that in their opinion these measures had improved the situation in the country. Just over a quarter (26 percent) said that they thought the West managed to worsen the situation in Russia, and 29 percent said that they saw neither positive nor negative changes. Moreover, 72 percent of poll participants shared the opinion that the Russian authorities shouldn’t push for the cancellation of the sanctions as they’d lift them in due time.

These poll results are in line with the general attitude that Russia requires virtually nothing from the USA and expects even less. Donald Trump became a figure of interest to some in Russia because he promised peace and reconciliation. Any people would naturally favour a foreign leader who seeks peace with them; Russia’s no different from any other country in this respect. However, that optimism faded as stagnation seems to be setting in. Having said that, still, most Russians are somewhat glad that Hillary Clinton, with her openly-hostile policy towards Russia, lost the election.

8 August 2017

Russia Feed

http://russiafeed.com/russians-losing-faith-donald-trump/

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