Russians become less fearful of terrorist acts

Russians have become less fearful of terrorist acts staged on transport and more aware of the government’s efforts to guarantee transport security, according to the Russian Public Opinion Research Center known as VTSIOM. “The number of people satisfied with measures which the authorities take under a comprehensive public security programme has gone up from 43% in 2011 to 65% in 2013,” VTSIOM reports. A quarter of Russians (25% in 2012 and 22 % in 2011) noticed improvements in the provision of passenger security on various modes of transport. However, most respondents (59%) said they saw no radical changes. Though Russians tend to be less afraid of terror strikes on transport, a possibility of terrorist acts in the metro remain the main source of fears. Nevertheless, the poll showed that the number of people who were afraid of metro terror strikes had also dropped from 47% in 2011 to 25% in 2013. Thirteen and twelve percent of respondents said that they were afraid of terrorist acts on trains and on planes, respectively. Only 1 % of respondents replied that they feared terrorist acts when riding in a taxi; 2 % said they were afraid of terrorist acts on suburban and inter-city buses and 3%-4% mentioned ground city transport. Russians have become better informed of what they should do in case of acts of unlawful interference on transport: that parameter has increased from 41% in 2011 to 53% in 2013, having reached the target figure of 57%. The level of awareness of how to act in emergencies has also risen from 32% in 2011 to 45% in 2013. However, it is still lower than the target indicator (80%). Half of Russians have seen TV promos on transport security over the past year, while twenty four percent of respondents said they had heard radio promos on federal radio programmes. The number of Russians who notice the state’s increasing attention to questions of transport security is also on the rise: from 31% in August 2012 to 46% in August 2013. Forty percent of those who mentioned positive changes noted there was more information available on the subject. They also pointed to the growing number of discussions and advertisements. Every fifth respondent said that more patrols were on duty on transport and that the number of police checks had increased. Eight percent said that more video surveillance cameras had been installed. VTSIOM conducted the poll in April 2013. It covered 1,600 people in 130 populated areas in 42 regions, territories and republics of Russia. The statistical error did not exceed 3.4%. Another public opinion poll carried out by the Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VTSIOM) reveals that 92% of Russians have mobile phones. Seventy-seven percent of respondents said that they had changed several cell phones compared to 15% who were using their first mobile phone at the time of the poll. Young Russians buy mobile phones more often than the older generation. About 85% of young and middle-aged respondents replied that they had had several mobile phones compared to 49% among people of retirement age. “Russian users do not always take their cell phones to repairs if they break down. Forty-one percent of respondents noted that a broken phone was one of the main reasons for them to go and buy a new one,” Russian sociologists went on to say. Every fifth respondent admitted that the cell phone they were using was not their first and that they had changed it to a modernized version several times to keep pace with time, VTSIOM went on to say. About 23% of the polled said they had bought a new model because the old one had become outdated in their view. Active Internet users are the first to follow new trends. One third of them bought new phones because they had wanted to have a more advanced model. “Only one in tenth respondents who do not use the Internet or do it rarely noted that the modernity factor was important for them,” VTSIOM explained. The Russian Public Opinion Research Center conducted the poll on May 25-26, 2013 and published the results on August 23. The center polled 1,600 people in 130 populated localities in 42 regions, territories and republics of Russia. The statistical error did not exceed 3.4%.