20.08.2013
Dynamics of patriotic moods: August 2013
- According to the latest survey by Rating Group, in August 2013, 81% of Ukrainians to some extent consider themselves patriots of their country. In particular, 40% of respondents clearly identify themselves as patriots, while another 41% say “rather yes than no.” At the same time, 13% do not consider themselves patriots, and another 5% were undecided. Thus, over the past year the share of those who consider themselves patriots has remained unchanged (in August 2012, 40% definitely described themselves as patriots and another 42% as rather patriots). If looking at a longer trend, since 2010 the share of people who consider themselves patriots has slightly increased. In September 2010, only 31% clearly described themselves as patriots and another 45% as rather patriots. Overall, the share of respondents who consider themselves patriots of their country increased from 77% to 81%.
- Interestingly, the highest levels of patriotism are reported both among the youngest and the oldest respondents. At the same time, there is a trend showing that the older respondents are, the less they support Ukraine’s independence. This suggests that some respondents who call themselves patriots do not necessarily mean an independent Ukraine, and this is more typical among older people. Overall, 61% of respondents would support the declaration of Ukraine’s Independence if such a choice were presented today, while 28% would not support it and 11% are undecided. Over the past year (since August 2012), these indicators have remained almost unchanged.
- Regionally, almost 90% would support Independence in the West, nearly 70% in the North and Center, while in the East and South fewer than half would support it, and in Donbas only about one third. Donbas is the only region where opponents of Independence outnumber supporters, whereas a year earlier these indicators were nearly equal. At the same time, almost half of Party of Regions supporters would support Independence, while nearly 40% would not. Among Communist Party supporters, opponents of Independence dominate (about two thirds).
- As noted, younger respondents are more likely to support Ukraine’s Independence. Men support Independence more than women. The higher a person’s material well-being, the higher the support for Independence. Almost 80% of respondents whose native language is Ukrainian support Independence. Among those who consider both Russian and Ukrainian as native languages, about half support it, while among those who consider only Russian as their native language, only about one third support it. Nearly 90% of Greek Catholic Church parishioners, more than 70% of Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Kyiv Patriarchate) parishioners, and almost 60% of believers who do not identify with any denomination support Independence. Among Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) parishioners, fewer than half support it, although supporters still outnumber opponents.
- 46% of respondents are ready to defend Ukraine’s territorial integrity with arms if necessary. This is the highest level recorded in the past three years: in 2010 it was 43%, and in 2012 only about one third. At the same time, 43% are not ready to defend territorial integrity with arms, and 11% are undecided. Previously, higher readiness to defend the country with arms was mainly expressed by supporters of Svoboda, but now similar levels are observed among supporters of other opposition parties such as UDAR and Batkivshchyna (about 60%). Another notable point is that in Donbas the number of respondents ready to defend territorial integrity with arms is 1.5 times higher than the number who would support Independence. Almost 60% of men and every third woman are ready to defend the country with arms. The younger the respondents, the higher the declared readiness to defend the country.
Methodology
- Survey population: population of Ukraine aged 18 and over
- Sample size: 2,000 respondents
- Method: face-to-face interviews
- Margin of error (95% confidence):
- near 50%: ≤ 2.2%
- near 30%: ≤ 2%
- near 10%: ≤ 1.3%
- near 5%: ≤ 1%
- Fieldwork period: August 9 – August 18, 2013
