Russians see better year ahead, poll says

MOSCOW – At the vast skating rink in Moscow’s Gorky Park, Russians say they’re looking forward to a 2015 that will be as smooth as the ice, despite the country’s economic and political difficulties. The ruble has sunk, tensions with the West are up, but the troubles seem to have produced a surge in national pride.

“Russians are a nation of optimists,” said Ivan Kasyanov, a skater in his 20s. “The worse things get, the better we develop.”

Kasyanov brushed off concerns about the stunning decline of the ruble – which lost about half of its value against Western currencies in 2014 – and the Western sanctions imposed over Russia’s annexation of Crimea and support for separatists in eastern Ukraine. He doubts these factors would deal a serious blow to an economy that in recent years has soared on oil and gas income.

“We will put more (effort) on our industrial development,” he said, echoing the spin promulgated on state-controlled TV.

A recent Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll showed that Russians who rely on state TV for their news think significantly more highly of President Vladimir Putin than those who tap other news sources. Still, the poll showed that in both sectors the support for Putin is resoundingly strong – 84 percent and 73 percent respectively.

But even in the ostentatious corridors of Moscow’s GUM department store, where only the well-heeled can afford to shop, some think differently.

“Here, everything changes so often. So I would like stability,” shopper Olga Mozalyova said.

In his televised New Year’s Eve message to the nation, Putin hailed the annexation of Crimea as a historic achievement and the rightful return of the peninsula’s people to the bosom of Russia. Although the fighting between pro-Russian separatists and government forces in eastern Ukraine has eased since September, there has been little progress on resolving the complicated and inflammatory question of the region’s political status.

In the offices of Russia’s opposition groups, who endure constant pressure from authorities and struggle to find public support, the view of 2015 is ominous.

“The end is near, the country is at the brink of going down,” said Mikhail Kasyanov, who was Putin’s first prime minister but is now a firm opponent. “That’s why I’m saying that people will take to the streets demanding a change of the situation … 2015 is a very important year, I would say it may be a historic year.”