Poll: Americans' views of Russia, Putin are worst in years

These sentiments, based on a survey conducted Feb. 6-9, continue the downward trajectory in Americans’ opinions since Putin returned to Russia’s presidency in 2012. These results align with Gallup’s findings last fall when Americans, for the first time in 14 years of Gallup polling on the topic, said they consider Russia an enemy, not an ally. In the past year, Russia has faced scrutiny for granting former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden asylum, involving itself in the Syrian civil war, and restricting gay and lesbian civil rights. The threat of terrorism at the Olympics and the allegedly substandard conditions at the Winter Games have also been big media stories in the past several months.

While their unfavorable ratings of Russia are at an all-time high, Americans’ perceptions of the world power have not always been positive in the years since the former Soviet Union collapsed in 1991. In 1999, Russia’s bombing of the former Soviet republic of Chechnya, along with its opposition to the NATO war in Kosovo, likely soured American opinion toward Russia. Another spike in anti-Russian opinion occurred in March 2003 (52% unfavorable) when Russia refused to back the U.S. in the Iraq war, claiming that only the United Nations could settle the dispute.