More than half of Russians feel the threat of nuclear war
The majority of Russians believe that the probability of a nuclear war is real, according to the survey. To a greater extent, this opinion is held by the adult generation-older than 46 years. The possibility of starting such a war became particularly acute last summer, when the Treaty on intermediate-range and shorter-range missiles was torn up.
In Russia, 53% of citizens consider a real threat of a military conflict with the use of nuclear weapons, according to a survey by the Public opinion Foundation (POM).
Among respondents aged 46-60, 63% of people hold this opinion. Sociologists have stated that 37% of Russians believe that the threat of such a conflict comes mainly from the United States. Another 3% of respondents see such a threat from NATO as a whole, and 2% of survey participants named the UK as the main source of such a threat.
Of the respondents aged 18-30, 55% do not believe in this development.
As follows from the results of the FOM survey, 8% of Russians found it difficult to form an opinion on whether a military conflict with the use of nuclear weapons is currently possible in the world.
The all-Russian survey was conducted on November 20-22, 2020 among 1 thousand respondents aged 18 and over.
In mid-January, experts from the Bulletin of atomic scientists group said that the probability of an exchange of nuclear strikes between the United States and Russia is small, but the nuclear arsenals of these countries pose an existential threat.
"I think that neither the Russians nor the Chinese have any intention of attacking the United States with nuclear weapons. The error is possible, but in these countries - the United States, Russia, and China - the control systems are quite good. The real danger comes from the possible loss of nuclear weapons or the loss of nuclear materials. I think there is a greater risk of other countries using nuclear weapons. Maybe Pakistan, "Robert Latiff, a member of the group's science and security Council, told RIA Novosti.
According to him, States with weaker control systems should be more concerned.
"As long as there are large arsenals, there is always the possibility of either an intentional launch or an unintentional one... I am concerned about the possibility of an exchange of strikes, intentional or not, between Pakistan and India. But if we talk about an existential threat, it comes from the huge weapons stocks of the United States and Russia, " Latiff's colleague, Professor Sharon Squassoni, told the Agency.
In mid-September, Russian Deputy foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, speaking at the presentation of the report "New understanding and ways to strengthen multilateral strategic stability", said that there is a risk of nuclear war in the current international situation. He noted that the actions of Western colleagues are becoming more emotional and sometimes very aggressive.
"They avoid discussing urgent issues in essence, block the work of dialogue channels, continue to undermine the architecture of arms control, and purposefully pursue a frankly destructive line to scrap effective Treaty mechanisms developed over decades in the field of security and stability," Ryabkov stressed.
The threat of nuclear war began to be discussed most actively after the United States in 2019 withdrew from the Treaty on the elimination of intermediate-range and shorter-range missiles (INF). Washington then accused Russia of not complying with its provisions. Moscow has rejected these claims.
In February 2021, the Treaty on measures for further reduction and limitation of strategic offensive arms (start-3) - the last document containing a potential nuclear race between the Russian Federation and the United States-expires.
Earlier, Washington stressed that the agreements with Russia should include not only those weapons that fall under start-3, but also other weapons and delivery vehicles that are still being developed in the Russian Federation, including low-power nuclear devices on new delivery vehicles.
According to the Pentagon, Russia has up to 2 thousand units of non-strategic nuclear weapons. Moscow calls on Washington to extend the Treaty in its current form, and then discuss other non-proliferation issues.
Kristina Sizova