SGER: The Impacts of the September 11, 2001, Attacks and Response on Russian Geopolitical Culture

University Of Colorado At Boulder, Boulder CO

Investigators

Abstract

Since the fall of the Soviet Union, Russia has struggled to define a new role for itself in world political affairs. Through the transformation of Russian political culture into a democratic system, the opinions of Russian citizens have come to play an increasingly important role in that process. Relatively little scholarly attention has been given to comparing the actions of the Russian government with the attitudes of its citizens, however, largely because of the absence of data on citizen perspectives and views. The September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the U.S. and the ensuing responses, particularly the U.S.-led attacks on the Taliban government and terrorists in Afghanistan, created dramatic shifts in Russian governmental policy, however, both through direct participation by Russian in the multi-national anti-terrorist coalition and through its approval of the stationing of U.S. troops in nations formerly part of the Soviet Union. The degree to which these new policies and actions of the Putin administration coincide with the attitudes of the Russian people is uncertain, however. This Small Grant for Exploratory Research will assess the relationship between formal Russian policies and the opinions of Russian citizens through the conduct 1,600 face-to-face interviews in the homes of Russian citizens. The 30-minute surveys, which will be conducted by the largest public surveying organization in Russia, will be draw from a nationally distributed cluster sample of residents. The surveys will probe the reactions of Russian citizens to the terrorist attacks on the U.S. and on responses to those attacks. A major emphasis in this study is on the degree to which Russian citizens concur with actions and policies of the Putin administration and to the citizens' preferred future role of Russia in the anti-terrorist coalition and in world affairs in general. Information also will be elicited on socioeconomic characteristics, ideology, and political preferences of responders in order to better assess survey responses. Survey results will have a margin of error of +/- 3.8 percent. The results of this survey and its analysis will be disseminated through scholarly publications and through presentations at major meetings. This project will provide valuable information about the degree to which the actions of Russia's government are based on popular opinions shared by a majority of the Russian people. Survey data and analyses will inform scholarly discussions of the evolving nature of Russian political culture and Russia's real and desired place in world affairs, and it will also provide new insights of value to U.S. officials engaged in foreign policy making.