The attitude towards the army and military service in our country is becoming more and more positive: more and more often our citizens say that the Russian military causes them feelings of pride and respect. Over the past ten years, the number of Russians who believe in the ability of the Russian army to resist a military threat from the outside has also remained practically unchanged. However, with all this, most of our fellow citizens still do not want any of their relatives or friends to serve in our army.
The data obtained by the leading sociological centers of the country on the attitude of our citizens to military service have some discrepancies. Some of them speak of some deterioration of the situation, others, on the contrary, of a significant increase in positive sentiments. All sociologists agree on one thing - Russians understand with understanding the need for universal military duty, and widespread hazing in the army is gradually decreasing.
The military began to be respected
Research shows that the Russian army is generally respected by our fellow citizens. According to VTsIOM (All-Russian Public Opinion Research Center), the number of citizens who respect the military and the army has grown significantly. So, if in 2008 29% of respondents spoke with respect about the RF Armed Forces, then in 2010 their number reached 35%. According to the results of recent polls, 10% of Russians have confidence in the Russian military, and another 5% admire people who have chosen this profession.
27% of the respondents have a negative attitude to the army. In particular, 12% of them are disappointed with our army, 8% are suspicious of it, 4% are skeptical, 3% simply condemn its actions. “A positive attitude towards the army is more characteristic of people of age: it is in this group that there are those who speak of pride and respect,” comments Stepan Lvov, a specialist at VTsIOM (head of the department of social and political research). …
The data obtained by the Public Opinion Foundation also indicate that the image of the Russian army is improving. If in 2007 only 18% of respondents spoke positively about it, then in 2010 this figure rose to 27%. At the same time, the number of Russians who are negatively disposed towards the army dropped sharply from 41% in 2007 to 30% in 2010. It is also curious that according to the Public Opinion Foundation, citizens' concerns about what is happening with the armed forces are growing. So, in 2007, improvements in the Russian army were noted by 31% of respondents, and already in 2010 this figure dropped to 25%. At the same time, 16% of people say that the situation in the armed forces is deteriorating, while in 2007 there were 11%.
Russia is threatened from outside
53% of citizens surveyed by the Levada Center believe that there is a real military threat to our country from other states. It is significant that since 2000 this indicator has never dropped below 37%. The feeling of a military threat among our citizens increases during the aggravation of various world confrontations, into which Russia is directly or even just symbolically drawn. There were not so few of them. In 2000, it was about the war in Yugoslavia and Chechnya, in 2003 the war in Iraq, in 2004 there was a tragedy in Beslan, in 2008 there were military actions in the Caucasus. In addition, the US plans to deploy missile defense elements in Europe and NATO's eastward expansion played a special role.
According to the Levada Center, 59% of the respondents do not doubt that our army will be able to repulse the aggressor. At the same time, 28% believe that in the event of an invasion, the domestic military will have no chance of winning. The highest level of trust in the armed forces was noted in 2008-2009, then 73% of Russians believed in their combat effectiveness (only 17% did not believe). However, already in 2010, the level of trust began to decline. There is such a rule - the less the threat, the higher the combat effectiveness is assessed, - the center explained.
VTsIOM cites somewhat different data on this. So, in 2008, 83% of respondents believed in the fighting efficiency of the army. In 2010, a similar question was not asked, but Stepan Lvov assumes that everything has remained at the same level or even increased, because the positive attitude towards the military is growing.
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Not happy to serve
Against the background of the Russians' confidence that the army will be able to cope with the aggressors, the unwillingness of the country's residents to do military service is quite symbolic. According to the Levada Center, 41% of respondents are ready to look for any opportunity not to go to serve. At the same time, 46% agree that their relatives and friends should serve Russia a little. 13% simply found it difficult to answer the question - to go to serve or not.
“If we look at the long-term perspective, the views of the respondents about conscript service change slightly - this is directly related to various resonant events, be it the story with the private Sychev or the reduction of the conscript service life. Now the media is pouring a lot of criticism against the Ministry of Defense and personally Minister Anatoly Serdyukov , - notes the sociologist Oleg Savelyev. The level of dissatisfaction with the minister and his ministry has recently increased slightly. We think that this is due to the end of the economic crisis, when the problems from the category of “where to make money” and “what to eat” have faded into the background. Various imperial themes have come to the fore. People are beginning to think more about things of national importance, including about the armed forces.
54% of the respondents would not want their relatives to do military service, only 36% of the respondents reacted positively to this issue. Opinions about the need for universal military service in Russia were equally divided. 47% are waiting for the army to switch to a contract basis and the same number are in favor of keeping the draft. Oddly enough, the number of those fighting for a contract army has only been decreasing over the years: so, back in 2002 there were 64% of them, and now it is only 47%.
People still consider hazing and bullying to be the main problem of the modern Russian army. According to VTsIOM, 33% of respondents say this.
The motives of the deviators
Over the past 10 years, the top reasons for evading military service have changed significantly. Traditionally, the first place is taken by hazing, but if in 2010 29% of respondents were afraid of it, then in 1998 there were 40% of them. At the same time, the humiliation of servicemen by commanders and officers has been kept at the same level for a decade - 15-20%. Another serious reason for refusing to serve, the respondents cite the possibility of injury and injury during armed conflicts (23% of the respondents are afraid of spilling their blood).
Among the risk factors for the army service, Russians also single out the difficult living conditions of service - 14%, moral decay - 10%, high criminalization - 7%. Moreover, 5% of Russians consider the years spent in the army to be completely lost. At the same time, much less talk about the government's irresponsible policy towards servicemen, now only 10%, in 1998 this figure was 35%.
People do not see other problems of the armed forces as being so significant: 9% of respondents are concerned about the defense capability, the lack of discipline - 7%, the problem of training new personnel and poor living conditions are dissatisfied with 6 and 5%, respectively. In fact, we can even talk about improvement on almost all fronts; in 2006, the growth of negativity was largely associated with the Sychev case, Stepan Lvov believes. After this incident, the indicators went up, probably, the statements of the officers themselves that their life became much better, and the unpleasant story begins to be forgotten, probably played a role.
Again, slightly different figures are given by Levada Center. According to their information, the number of those who believe that hazing exists in most military units is rapidly decreasing. In 2011, 39% of respondents say this, while back in 2005 there were 50%. 13% are sure that there is hazing everywhere, and 27% are sure that in most parts there is none at all. The idea of the existence of bullying was most likely influenced by the reduction in the service life from two years to one year, according to Levada Center experts.
