UN losing its authority in Russians' eyes - poll
MOSCOW. Aug 14 (Interfax) - The popularity rating of the United Nations Organization in Russia has practically halved. Most Russians claim that UN activity fails to meet Russian interests, sociologists said.
Fifty-five percent of the respondents polled in 2000 had a positive opinion about the UN role in the contemporary world, but their number is down to 24% at present, the Public Opinion Foundation reported. The number of Russians who think the UN has a significant influence on global affairs is down, from 54% to 34%.
About half of the respondents (48%) believe states do not have to abide by UN decisions if they deem these decisions are wrong, the sociologists said. The number of persons sharing this idea has grown a lot over the past decade, from 23% in 2003, and the number of opponents has declined from 52% to 23% (they think states must abide by UN decisions even if these decisions may look wrong to them).
The number of Russians maintaining that UN activity meets the interests of Russia has almost been halved. The opinion was expressed by 25% of citizens in the early 2000s and 13% this August. Sixty-three percent expressed the opposite view.
Twenty-four percent of the respondents said Russia had a considerable influence on the UN activity and 35% argued the influence was insignificant. The Public Opinion Foundation polled 1,500 respondents in 100 populated localities in 43 regions on August 2-3.
