Most Ukrainians think that social conflicts involving the use of force are not likely in the immediate future, according to a recent opinion poll conducted between September 9 and 14 by the Razumkov Center for Economic and Political Research. According to Interfax- Ukraine, the poll was conducted among 2,012 respondents aged over 18 from 122 towns and villages across Ukraine, in a sampling that represents the adult population according to key social and demographic parameters.
Answering the question “Do you believe the threat of uprisings, revolutions, or revolts is likely in Ukraine in the immediate future?” only 12% replied in the affirmative, while 72% said no and 16% were uncertain. According to Razumkov Center Deputy Director Mykhailo Mishchenko, both pro-government and pro-opposition supporters think the threat of uprisings, revolutions, or revolts is unlikely. Among those who intend to vote for Yanukovych, 75% believe such a threat is unlikely, as compared to 73% of supporters of Socialist Party Leader Oleksandr Moroz, 68% of supporters of Our Ukraine Leader Viktor Yushchenko, and 67% of those who intend to vote for Communist Party Leader Petro Symonenko. Opinions also differ regionally. Whereas only 67% of those polled in western and southern regions think the threat of uprisings is unlikely, this figure jumps to 72% and 79% in the central and eastern regions, respectively.
COMMENTARY
Valery KHMELKO, Ph.D., president of the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology:
“The results of this poll are proof that the public’s good judgment prevails and remains conservative, because in an earlier poll that quizzed respondents about their willingness to participate in certain forms of protest, a mere 6% to 8% of those polled expressed their readiness to resort to such radical forms as violent struggle against infringements of their rights. Therefore, the results of this poll are not surprising. The only telling thing about it is the difference in views expressed by residents of Ukraine’s west and east, because with such a sampling this difference has a big statistical significance. I attribute this to the fact that eastern Ukrainians are less apprehensive of vote rigging, whereas there are many more who are afraid of this happening in western Ukraine, hence their greater readiness for such forms of such direct action as revolt.”
