People in former Soviet republics lukewarm on integration - survey :: Charter'97 :: News

RIA Novosti - According to the results of a survey made public today, people in the former Soviet republics share the disappointment in integration processes of those people in the Western Europe who recently voted against the European Union Constitution.

The survey was conducted by the Eurasian Monitor organization, which represents independent companies in member countries of the Common Economic Space (CES) quartet (Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Ukraine).

"The fiasco over the European Constitution is an alarm bell for all integration projects," said Valery Fyodorov, the head of the all-Russian Center for Public Opinion Studies (VTsIOM). "The sentiments in the former Soviet Union are reminiscent of those in the Western Europe - politicians` integration plans do not rest on the expectations of citizens."

A large group of the Russians included in the survey (30%) said they wanted to live in their own country, while 11% spoke in favor of the Commonwealth of Independent States, 15% of the CES and 14% of joining a united Europe.

However, Russians are nostalgic for the Soviet Union, as 27% of the respondents said they wanted to live in a restored USSR even though they know that it is impossible.

Integration sentiments in Russia are the lowest in comparison with other CES members: 30% of Ukrainians said they would prefer to live in a united Europe, whereas 27% of Kazakhs opted for the CES. Respondents in Belarus were split between wanting to live in a united Europe and the CES (22% and 24% correspondingly).

"The survey refutes the myth that Russia is the driving force of the post-Soviet integration, which rests on the Russian imperialistic sentiments. Russians are more likely to choose autarchy and isolationism," Fyodorov said.

Interestingly, only every fourth person asked in Russia had a general idea about the CES, whereas the others never heard of it before.

"Integration ideas are not interesting, since there have been too many words on this issue and too few results," Fyodorov said.

Moreover, people in all four CES member states fear an inflow of competitors on their labor markets and take a negative view on the idea of foreigners, including CIS citizens, buying property in their countries.

Eurasian Monitor organization conducted the survey in April 2005 in the four CES member states. The organization consists of VTsIOM, the Russian research group Tsirkon, the Donetsk Information and Analysis Center, the Novak laboratory in Belarus, and the Institute of Comparative Social Studies in Kazakhstan. Groups of 1,100-2,100 people from various social backgrounds participated in the survey.