More than 70 percent of Russians believe that their government did not attempt to influence the outcome of the 2016 US presidential election, according to a poll by the US-based Pew Research Center on Tuesday.
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 21st August, 2018) More than 70 percent of Russians believe that their government did not attempt to influence the outcome of the 2016 US presidential election, according to a poll by the US-based Pew Research Center on Tuesday.
"When asked whether the Russian government tried to influence the 2016 US presidential election, 71 percent of Russians say no," a press release summarizing the poll said. "Only 15 percent believe their government did try to influence the outcome, while 14 percent offer no opinion."
More broadly, Russians are about evenly split over whether their country tries to influence the internal affairs of other countries: 45 percent say yes, 46 percent say no, the release explained.
The United States, however, emerged as a top meddler in the affairs of other nations in the PEW poll, with 85 percent of those surveyed naming Washington as the big-time global meddler, the release noted.
In addition, nearly three-in-four (72%) think Russia plays a more important role in the world than it did 10 years ago, up from 59 percent last year, the poll revealed.
As for Russian President Vladimir Putin, a 58 percent majority expressed "a lot of confidence" in his ability to handle international affairs, with an additional 23 percent expressing "some confidence," according to the release.
Pew surveyed 1,000 respondents in Russia from May 22 to June 23, 2018.
