Sociologists from Levada-Center have published the results of poll made with 14,896 people by World Public Opinion in cooperation with research centers from different countries within PIPA program (Maryland University, USA). Interrogation regarding attitude towards the media was done in 20 countries representing 59% of the world population. The poll in Russia was done with the representative sample of 1,600 people.  

The research has shown that Russian people less than citizens from any other presented country value non-interference by the state in the informational policy. Only 23% consider that free publication of the news and comments without state control is very important. In this indication we are close to Iran (29%) and India (34%). The figure is much higher for traditional democracy countries: France (54%), the USA (56%) and Great Britain (65%). Significantly, the per cent of those in Nigeria is equal to that in France. In two other post-soviet countries the figures are: Ukraine (39%) and Azerbaijan (52%).     

On the other hand, 41% of Russian citizens consider non-interference by the state to be “rather important”. This proves that not approving of much interference they do not consider the freedom of media to be unconditional value. 

Rather low in Russia is also the figure of assessment of the state of freedom of the media in the country. 25% of the interrogated consider home media to be “more free than unfree”.  

It’s interesting that only 22% of Russians consider home media not to be too much free and only 4% think it to be absolutely unfree. The figures for Iran are even lower 16% and 5% respectively. In Ukraine the figures are 24% and 4%, Azerbaijan (27% and 14%), China (26% and 6%), and Nigeria (38% and 6%). The number of those considering home media not to be free is very low in the USA, Great Britain and France – 1%, 1% and 3% respectively.   

Significantly big percent of Russians (71%) consider they must have the right of reading publications from other countries including those considered to be hostile towards Russia (15% believe such doing should not be allowed). With this figure we are close to Palestine (72%), Azerbaijan (73%), Egypt and Turkey (74%) and Iran (79%). The figure for Ukraine and France is 82%, Great Britain 89% and the USA 92%.    

We discussed the poll results and the ideas by Russians about freedom of media with Boris Dubin, the chief of division of social and political research at Levada-Center. 

Q: Weren’t you glad to see the figure of 71% of Russians believing the country’s citizens should have the right to read publications from any countries including those considered to be hostile towards Russia?

A: To tell the truth I do not understand completely the high level of this figure considering ambiguous attitude in minds to any facts related to opportunities and rights of the population. Usually, a question whether citizens should have this or that opportunity is answered “yes” by most respondents. But when you formulate the question differently like “should the state restrict the current media sources?” they will say “sure”. Significant part of the respondents says to a question if we need more freedom that we have already enough freedom. Freedom is not an unconditional value for most Russians. Over two thirds of the population do not notice any infringement on the freedom of media. 25-30% considers it that some freedoms are even better to be restricted. Having to make a choice between freedom and order, 75% will go for order. The choice “state or freedom of existence” is taken in favor of the state by two thirds again. Russian population prefers timely paid wages and cheap or free medicine (which used to be the responsibility of the state) to any freedoms. 80% of people answer in the negative to a question whether a person can survive without care given by the state, i.e. people wouldn’t like their rights to be infringed on but they wouldn’t object the state interfere more intensely in different spheres of life.       

Q: And answering the question whether citizens should have the right to read any information in the Internet or the country’s leadership must have the right to restrict access by population to some materials, 57% said that we must be able to read any information. With this figure we are between France (52%) and Great Britain (61%).    

A: At the end of the day, most part of those who say so, they do not know the subject. At best, about 25% of population use the Internet in our country with city’s youth being the major part among them. But if you ask “do you support the current policy by the state towards the media?” then the same share of 55-60% would say “yes”.  

Q: And they wouldn’t realize that the state really restricts the media?

A: No, they wouldn’t. Significantly more than half of population do not consider that the media is oppressed here. The generation is growing that does not remember what the media was like before 1985 and after 1989. This generation has nothing to compare with. This is why it is not concerned about freedom of media.  

Q: Is this a sign of distrust to the media?

A: Sure, but it’s exactly distrust that is primary and not the working by a particular TV station. Our people distrust to other people and to different institutions. This means “I don’t interfere with the activities of those institutions and I’m not going to change them”.    

P.S. Novaya Gazeta publishes part of tables comparing only 6 countries there. The average is the figure for 20 countries. The full version of the research available at  www.levada.ru.