How do Russians feel about the bear, the symbol of Russia?

On November 24, 2019, the Public Opinion Foundation conducted a survey of our compatriots, which showed that 65% of Russians consider the bear the most suitable symbol of Russia.

18% were against the bear - a national symbol, 17% of respondents found it difficult to answer. Muscovites (73% of respondents) and residents of the Siberian Federal District (71%) most often call a strong beast a symbol of the country.

The prevailing explanations are that he is “big, strong and powerful” like Russia, “Russia is a force, and power is a bear.” “Strong country and big as a bear”, the bear is a predator, it “for the time being is silent until you touch it”.

“The bear is associated primarily with strength, power, and this is what prompts the majority to recognize him as an adequate personification of Russia,” the sociologists say.

6% of respondents noted that the bear has historically always been associated with Russia, 5% called the bear a formidable, aggressive and ferocious predator that inspires fear. 4% of Russians said that the bear is associated with the fact that “we can stand up for ourselves” and it can “defend its territory”.

In the spring, the designer of the Artemy Lebedev Studio, Egor Zhgun, presented the mascots of the Russian Olympic team - a cat-ushanka and a stray bear. The mascots will represent the Team of Russia (organization under the Russian Olympic Committee). The studio believes that the bear is associated with Russia, including thanks to the Olympics in Moscow in 1980 and in Sochi in 2014. “He never kneels; he doesn’t have any.”

Source: rbc