Russians No Longer See U.S. as Chief Enemy, Poll Finds. See What Nation Tops List

The perception of the United States within Russia has undergone something of a sea change over the past year, suggesting that resentments dating to the Cold War may be beginning to thaw, according to new polling.

The share of Russians who view the U.S. as a hostile nation has dropped dramatically since 2024, and now — for the first time in decades — more Russians label other countries as adversarial, a new survey from the Levada Center found.

Further, feelings toward the U.S. have improved substantially, according to the poll, which comes as President Donald Trump attempts to broker a peace deal to end the Ukraine-Russia war.

With that said, not all of the findings were so rosy. Most Russians continue to express pessimism about relations between the west and Russia, which they think will always be founded on mistrust. . .

In the survey, less than half of respondents, 40%, named the U.S. as hostile toward Russia. This is down 36 points from 76% in May 2024, marking a massive shift in opinion in just one year. (Read more from “Russians No Longer See U.S. as Chief Enemy, Poll Finds. See What Nation Tops List” HERE)

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