Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov during celebrations marking the 225th anniversary of Russia's Black Sea Fleet in the Ukrainian city of Sevastopol, May 11, 2008.
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Russians Say Sevastopol Should Be Theirs
The All-Russia Center for the Study of Public Opinion conducted a poll in connection with Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov’s call for the return of Sevastopol, Ukraine, to Russia at the ceremony marking the 225th anniversary of the Russian Black Sea Fleet. “Even now, Sevastopol has not been transferred to Ukraine in the historical documents,” Luzhkov said. “The question of Sevastopol should be handed over to an international court. We are talking about the possibility of a normal and legal resolution of the question and it should be decided by an international court. I officially appeal to the leaders of our state, I officially appeal to the State Duma and Federation Council to raise the question of Sevastopol again.” Luzhkov has since been declared a persona non grata in Ukraine.
The pollsters found that 68 percent of Russians agree that “Sevastopol should belong to Russia.” Only 5 percent recognize Ukraine’s right to the city. The statistical error in the poll was 3.4 percent. For the majority of respondents (54%) Russia’s right to the city is base don’t he fact that “Sevastopol was originally a Russian city.” Another 7 percent say that “The Russian fleet is there and it has access to the Black Sea.” Slightly fewer hold that Russia should hve the city because “It is a city of Russian military glory.”
When asked to choose between Russia’s possession of the city and Russia’s good relations with Ukraine, only 18 percent of respondents wanted to renounce claims to the city for the sake of good relations with the country’s neighbor. A greater number, 21 percent, wanted to raise the question of Sevastopol’s only in connection with Ukraine’s entry into NATO; 31 percent thought the city had to be returned to Russia regardless, that was more important that relations with Ukraine.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of May 26, 2008
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