In Moscow, the move was widely taken as proof of the president’s weakness in face of an anti-Russian political establishment.
The poll was conducted on July 30-31, several days after Moscow announced it would force the U.S. Mission to Russia to reduce its diplomatic staff, and barred access to two U.S. diplomatic properties.
When asked whether they thought Russia should take retaliatory measures by introducing its own sanctions, however, 19 percent of respondents in the poll approved, but 29 percent thought the authorities should “not react.” Only four percent said they believed in a “tough response.”
Overall, those polled seemed to be unconcerned by the impact of the sanctions. Thirty-five percent of respondents said they thought sanctions had a positive effect on Russia, and more than one quarter, 29 percent, said they did not think sanctions significantly impacted the country.
The poll was conducted among 1200 people. The margin of error did not exceed 3.5 percent.