Public Attitudes toward EU-Russian Relations: Knowledge, Values, and Interests

Abstract

In May 2003, during his annual address to the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, Russian President Vladimir Putin put forth his strategic position regarding Russia’s choice to integrate with Europe: ‘… this is our historical choice. It has been made’. Recognizing the complexities and long-term nature of the goal, Putin referred to shared interests: ‘It is also obvious that our interests, and the interests of “Greater Europe” require that serious steps be made towards each other’.¹ This declaration was followed in his 2005 address to the Federal Assembly by an affirmation of Russia’s commitment to European values, referring to ‘the ideals of freedom, human rights, justice and democracy’ as ‘our society’s determining values’.² In his 2006 speech, after giving priority mention to the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), Putin identified the European Union (EU) as ‘our biggest partner’, promising the potential for ‘mutually beneficial economic ties’.³