Russians living closer to the Ukrainian border are more likely to have favorable views towards the country, a report revealed Friday.
The report, written by Princeton University fellow Nikita Melnikov and economist Sergey Guriev, found that Russians living closer to the Ukrainian conflict felt more empathy with Ukrainian citizens.
Attitudes towards the country were measured using key search words from Russian based search engine Yandex. Data was gathered from 79 Russian regions during the period between Jan. 20, 2014 and July 6, 2015, with key phrases such as ?€?charity,?€? ?€?social security,?€? ?€?adoption,?€? ?€?blood donation?€? and ?€?help for children?€? used as evidence of sympathetic feelings towards Ukraine.
Respondents were grouped using a number of factors, including local inflation, vulnerability to changes in the ruble?€™s value and average monthly regional salary, as well as distance from the conflict zone.
The report also showed that in regions closer to the conflict, sympathetic views increased along with the intensity of the fighting ?€” measured by the frequency of the term ?€?war in Ukraine?€? in the media.
?€?Our findings are probably down to empathy. The more intense the conflict, the more people in the regions close to the conflict sympathized,?€? said Guriev in a statement to the RBC newspaper.
?€?The findings were the same even when we excluded searches for blood donation from the data, which suggests that the growth in sympathy towards Ukrainians cannot be purely explained by the direct impact of military activity.?€?
A Message from The Moscow Times:
Dear readers,
We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."
These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.
We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.
Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.
By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.
Remind me later.