Surveys of popular sentiment towards Jews, conducted by the Pew Research Center between the collapse of the Communism and the end of the second decade of the 21st century, testify to the long term decline, or at the very least, stability, in prevalence of unfavourable opinions of Jews in Russia. Levels of negativity towards Jews in Russia are typical of Eastern and Southern Europe (Ukraine and Spain are presented for comparison to illustrate this point) and above those observed in Western countries, represented here by the United Kingdom.

Figure 1. Percentage of population having unfavourable views of Jews, according to the surveys of the Pew Research Center Global Attitudes surveys.

Surveys of specific attitudes towards Jews, conducted by the Anti-Defamation League, paint a very similar picture. Views of Jews as sinister, controlling, selfish and exploitative are stable in Russia. The general level of such views resembles the levels observed in Ukraine and, at times, in Spain.

Figure 2. Percentage of population endorsing specific statements about Jews as ‘probably true’, according to the Anti-Defamation League surveys.

Surveys of attitudes towards Jews conducted in Russia, by Russian polling agencies, add some nuance. Levada Center, a research institute and a pollster with anti-establishment reputation, registered stability of negativity towards Jews but also towards other ethnic minorities in Russia, all throughout the 21st century. Compared to other minorities in Russia, Jews attract relatively low of negativity.

Figure 3. Percentage of population expressing negativity towards Jews and other groups, according to surveys conducted by Levada Center.