Around 60% of Russians are concerned that a Third World War could begin soon, a survey conducted by the Field research group in Moscow has found.
According to a report published on Friday, 57% of survey respondents believe a global conflict could begin in the next 5-10 years, though 13% said they are confident this will not happen.
Among those surveyed, people aged 30-59 with higher education and who source news online were more likely to speak about a possible world war than those with lower education and income.
Around seven in ten of the 1,617 survey respondents named the US and Russia as the most likely parties in the hypothetical war, with the UK, France, Germany, Poland, and the Baltic States mentioned among Washington’s potential allies. Only one in ten respondents named Ukraine as a potential enemy of Russia in a global conflict. The respondents named China, Belarus, Iran, North Korea, India, and Kazakhstan as Russia’s main allies in the event of a global war.
More than 60% of respondents said they believe that Russia or a coalition led by Russia would win a world war, while only 6% said the US and the Collective West would achieve victory, and 18% believe that neither side would win.
The survey was conducted among 1,617 Russian citizens over 18 years old from May 23 to June 2. It also touched on the matter of support for Moscow’s military operation against Kiev. Almost three-quarters of respondents (73%) said they believe Russia is currently moving in the right direction with regard to the conflict, with 79% saying the operation is going well for the Russian army. Around half of the respondents believe it is time for peace talks and a diplomatic solution.
Warnings of a potential global conflict have been voiced repeatedly over the past two years, since the start of the Ukraine conflict in 2022. While Moscow has warned that growing Western involvement could spark a global war, and some Western analysts have said that a Russian victory will inevitably lead to this outcome, some officials and analysts believe that a world war has already begun given the scope of NATO and EU involvement.