Russian President Vladimir Putin's propaganda targeted at audiences outside Russia doesn't work, but neither will any Western counter-efforts directed at Russians. A new report from the Pew Research Center explains why.
Pew surveyed public opinion among 45,435 respondents in 40 nations between March and May, and found that almost everywhere, people had an unfavorable opinion of Russia:
Europeans, whom the Kremlin would like to consider deluded U.S. followers, are often even more negative about Russia than Americans are — and that's not just Poles, more exposed than others to the conflict in Ukraine, but also previously Russia-friendly Germans and French. Russia has few friends in the Middle East and Latin America. More Turks dislike it than view it favorably despite President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's warm relationship with Putin, and Venezuelans are no Russophiles despite their government's anti-American consensus with Moscow. Jordanians apparently have little patience with Russia's support of Syrian dictator Bashar Assad, whose war-torn country has flooded the kingdom with refugees.