OREANDA-NEWS. April 29, 2009. On the eve of the 23rd anniversary of the accident at Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, from Apr 10 till 22 2009 Levada-Center held a poll concerning the attitude of the Russians towards nuclear energy.

1,602 people over 18 took part in the survey.

“35% of the Russians advocate the preservation of nuclear energy, almost as many support its active development,” say the results of the public opinion poll conducted by Levada Center on the eve of the 23rd anniversary of the Chernobyl accident.

Deputy Director of Levada Center Aleksey Grazhdankin says that the results of this poll are not very much different from those of the survey held in 2006. This proves that the Russians show stably positive attitude towards nuclear energy. Only 5% of the respondents have said that Russia must give up nuclear energy, 12% advocate a gradual phase-out (against 15% in 2006).

42.5% of the Russians believe that nuclear energy will be able to replace oil and gas when they come to an end (15% opt for water resources, 9% for coal, 5.1% for other sources of energy).

It should be noted that 39.4% of people from 18 to 24 say that nuclear energy must be actively developed, while 39.1% of people over 55% believe that it must be preserved at the current level. Servicemen and specialists have shown the most benevolent attitude towards nuclear energy (86% and 74%, respectively). Pensioners (23%) and housewives (22%) are among the most ardent opponents of nuclear energy.

People living in the regions hosting nuclear power plants show more positive attitude towards nuclear energy: 75% in the Central Federal District and 71% in the North-Western Federal District. In Moscow 45% advocate status quo, while 30% say that nuclear energy must be developed.