Nearly two-thirds of Russians believe there is an organized group of people working to minimize Russia’s role in history and subvert its traditional values using “gay propaganda,” according to a survey by the state-run VTsIOM pollster.
In recent years, Russia has positioned itself as a defender of conservative values in the face of European liberalism. Some analysts argue the Soviet Union fostered a world view that encouraged conspiratorial thinking, a mind-set that promotes the same type of thinking today.
Sixty-six percent of Russians polled by VTsIOM agreed with the statement that “there is a group of people who seek to rewrite Russian history and replace the historical fact in order to hurt Russia and diminish its greatness.”
Another 63 percent of people said they agreed with a statement that “a group of people are trying to destroy the spiritual values formed by Russians through the propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations.”
Both age and education level impacted the poll’s finding — the older a respondent became, and the more educated, the more likely they were to agree with the statements referencing a group of people working to undermine Russia in some form.
Oleg Chernozub, an expert at VTsIOM, said the results suggest the Russian public is growing more aware of what he calls a “quite obvious” attempt to subvert traditional values and revise history.
VTsIOM conducted its survey among 2,000 Russians on May 29-30.
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