MOSCOW — Almost half of all fascist sympathizers in Russia are 35 or younger and live in large cities.
These were among the findings of the first-ever poll tracking attitudes toward neo-Nazis in Russia, which was conducted by the Public Opinion Foundation, a leading Moscow-based polling firm.
Some 58 percent of Russians have a negative attitude toward neo-Nazi groups, while 6 percent of respondents have a positive attitude toward such groups, according to the poll.
Thirty-six percent of respondents said they had no definite attitude toward neo-Nazi organizations.
It was this last number that concerned a leading Russian antifascist activist.
“Should the situation in the country change, these people’s attitude toward fascists might change from indifference to sympathy,” said Alla Gerber, a former member of the Russian Parliament.
Far-right nationalists and neo-Nazi extremists have recently become more visible in Russia, especially in some provincial centers, and experts estimate that there are about 50 neo-Nazi and ultranationalist groups active in Russia.
Among the other findings in the survey:
*15 percent of respondents encountered neo-Nazis in their daily lives;
*10 percent saw neo-Nazi symbols displayed in public places; and
*5 percent saw or read neo-Nazi periodical publications groups.
The foundation interviewed 1,500 Russian adults at the end of October.
The margin of error in the survey was plus or minus five percentage points.