Russia's Public Opinion Foundation reported on its website that 29 percent of 1,500 respondents who took part in an opinion survey conducted on 10-11 December admitted to having a bad opinion of Ukraine. The foundation says only 17 percent of Russians held negative views on Ukraine in January, when Viktor Yushchenko was inaugurated president.
But the survey also showed that less than half of respondents (49 percent) said they viewed Ukraine negatively, compared with 60 percent in January.
A majority of respondents (67 percent) believe relations between Russia and Ukraine are marred by serious disputes, with economic relations the most contentious. Public Opinion said negative views of Ukraine are particularly widespread among residents of Moscow.
The foundation estimates that its survey has a 3.6 percent margin of error.
