The latest official public opinion research shows that Russians are still strongly influenced by the legacy of the Cold War in their opinions. Defending "routes of approach to our borders" and "the West is an enemy" are still lingering notions in Russian minds.

Here are some amazing statistics on Russian opinion about U.S. and EU political and economic influence on the former Soviet republics (according to the All-Russian Public Opinion Research Center (WCIOM)'s latest research):

-52% of Russians see this influence as a "great danger"
-24% think it is a negative process, in the long term
-76% of Russians consider the West to be an enemy

It is very descriptive that WCIOM didn't include a "positive influence" option for poll respondents, only the alternative of "I see no influence".

Other research by WCIOM illustrates Russian feelings about Russia's military bases outside the country’s borders:

-55% of respondents said bases are there to "guard the routes of approach"
-20% think that military is there to "defend Russian national interests"
-12% believe that the Russian military's highest priority should be to "constrain U.S. expansion"

Contributed by Anton Verstakov (Russian Journalist)