Russia Taking Over The World? Poll Shows Citizens Believe They’re Very Influential

A huge majority of Russians believe their country is one of the strongest, best positioned and influential nations in the world, according to a poll conducted by the All-Russia Public Opinion Research Center, Tass News Agency reported Wednesday.

Given President Vladimir Putin and his military and intelligence agency’s actions of late – annexing Crimea, poking and prodding members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, as well as the alleged hacking of the United States’ presidential election last year – 86 percent of Russians believe their nation has “great” influence around the globe. It was a huge jump from last year’s results, which still showed a strong 75 percent.

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The poll was conducted March 2-3, taking the opinions of 1,200 Russians over the age of 18 and had a margin of error of 3.5 percent, according to Tass.

"Over three past years, the hope that the country will acquire the status of a great power has transformed into certainty that it already is," the research center said.

"Russians’ self-esteem continues to increase. This stems primarily from Russia’s active role and importance as a global political player. The poll registered a record high share of respondents who believe that our country has already acquired the status of a great power or will do so quite soon," the polling group’s Director General, Valery Fyodorov added in a statement.

Compared to just three years ago, Russians have slightly increased their feelings about their nation’s reach around the world. In 2014, a poll showed 54 percent thought Russia would be a “leading state” and the newly released poll reflected a rise to 57 percent.

Russians also said they felt relatively safe at home. According to the report, more than half of the respondents were not afraid of an attack on Russia, a sentiment that has increased recently. In comparison, 42 percent were fretful of a foreign attack, specifically from either the U.S. or Ukraine.

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Similarly, Putin’s approval rating has also ticked up in recent years. Of late, he’s registered an 83 percent job approval rating from Russians, a huge turnaround after he hit a low of 61 percent back in 2014 just before Sochi hosted the Winter Olympics and the annexing of Crimea from Ukraine, the Washington Post reported last year.