INTERMEDIA SURVEY FINDS ARMENIANS MOST FAVORABLY INCLINED TOWARDS RUSSIA AND OPTIMISTIC ABOUT DEMOCRACY IN THEIR COUNTRY

U.S. Newswire
August 28, 2008 Thursday 10:53 AM EST

Despite a powerful Diaspora lobby in the United States, Armenians’
positive feelings towards the U.S. are nearly 40 percentage points
behind their feelings towards neighboring Russia. So says a survey of
the small (3 million inhabitants) yet strategically located nation,
conducted earlier this year by InterMedia, a Washington, D.C.- based
research, evaluation and consulting organization.

The InterMedia survey found fully 90 percent of Armenians are favorably
inclined towards Russia, but only 53 percent say they are so inclined
towards the United States.

"The higher favorability towards Russia compared to the U.S. is not
surprising," says Lyuda Andriyevska, one of InterMedia’s project
managers for Eurasia. "Russia has been the main strategic partner for
Armenia for centuries. Currently, Russia provides landlocked Armenia
with oil and gas, invests heavily in business and infrastructure,
sells weapons and supports many positions of Armenian foreign policy,
the touchiest of which is its dispute with Azerbaijan over the
Nagorno-Karabakh region."

Armenia is strategically significant in the region due in part to its
location at both the energy and ethnic crossroads of Europe, Asia and
Middle East. With growing demand for energy resources in the world,
Armenia is an important player among three regional powers — Iran,
Turkey and Russia — all of which compete for political and economic
leadership in the region.

Only slightly more than one-quarter of Armenians, 28 percent, are
favourably inclined towards their northern neighbour, Georgia. "One
reason is the souring of Georgian-Russian relations over the last
couple of years," says Ms. Andriyevska. "Georgia serves as a lifeline
for the Armenian economy, as all the inland trade with Russia goes
through it. However, the ongoing conflict between Georgia and Russia
has seriously disrupted communication and transportation of energy and
food supplies to Armenia. This should serve to increase Armenians’
animosity towards Georgia and perhaps even take some of the lustre
off their feelings towards Russia."

The InterMedia survey also found Armenians are pro-European but less
keen on NATO. Seventy percent of the population agree or strongly
agree with the statement that "Armenia should join EU." NATO, on the
other hand, has the support of only slightly more than a quarter of
the population, 27 percent.

Although favorability toward Russia is high, there are fundamental
differences in public sentiment between the two countries. The
InterMedia survey finds Armenians are more optimistic about democratic
changes in their country and have more faith in the power of the
electoral process than do Russians. Almost two-thirds of Armenians,
64 percent, anticipated increased chances for democracy and personal
self expression after the presidential elections in February 2008;
only 5 percent of the Russian population expected similar improvements
in terms of democracy and self expression after their own 2008
presidential elections. (InterMedia’s Russian survey took place in
January 2008.)

InterMedia is a leading international media research, public opinion,
evaluation and consulting organization creatively equipping clients
to understand their audiences, gauge their effectiveness and target
their communications in transitional and developing societies
worldwide. Based in Washington, D.C., and active year-round in more
than 60 countries, InterMedia helps clients understand complex issues
in challenging research environments. The company’s strengths include
its people-area experts skilled in scientifically-based research and
focused on client solutions-its vast global network of local research
partners and contacts and its rich data archive of more than 670
media and opinion surveys carried out over the past 15 years.

Survey Details: InterMedia conducted a nationally representative survey
of 2,000 face-to face interviews in Armenia between 22 January and 27
February 2008. Maximum margin of error, with a 95% confidence interval,
is +/-2.2%.

For more information, contact Alex Wooley, InterMedia’s vice
president of communications and development, at 202-434-9332,
wooleya@intermedia.org