Trump-Putin meet: A survey explains how Russians see US and its President

When asked how much they liked Donald Trump, 10 per cent of Russian respondents had a favourable opinion as opposed to 71 per cent who had an unfavourable one

Donald Trump sits down with Russian President Vladimir Putin on July 16 in Helsinki for their first one-on-one summit.

In anticipation of this event, Russian pollster VCIOM asked the Russian public this week about how they viewed the American president and US-Russia relations. Though an authoritarian country, public opinion is still an important factor that the Russian government takes into account when making policy.

On one hand, VCIOM’s poll shows a Russian public with rather negative views of the American president and the United States. However, the majority of Russians want ties with the United States