Russia: An unfriendly power

Americans increasingly view Russia as an unfriendly power, even before the latest news emerged of Russia granting Snowden asylum.

Russian authorities today granted Edward Snowden a year-long visa giving him refugee status. He will now able able to live - and work - in Russia. The move has prompted harsh words from American political leaders, with prominent Republican Senator Lindsey Graham saying that the move was 'provocative' and should be considered a 'game changer' for the US relationship with Russia.

Research conducted by YouGov prior to the decision to allow Snowden to live in Russia as a refugee shows that the American public's view of Russia is largely negative. Only 23% think that Russia is either an ally or a friend of the US, while 50% think that Russia is unfriendly or an enemy of the US.

Perceptions of US-Russian relations have deteriorated in recent years. In 2010 37% of Americans had a negative view of US-Russian relations, with 10% saying Russia was an enemy of the US and 27% saying Russia was unfriendly towards the US.

Full results can be found here.

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