Almost one-third - 29 per cent - of Finnish citizens would ask for more daring expressions of opinion on Russia.
More than half of Finns say that Finland’s political leaders should continue to take up the same attitude towards the eastern neighbour as today.
The information is based on a survey recently commissioned by Helsingin Sanomat and conducted by Suomen Gallup.
A total of 42 per cent of the supporters of the True Finns recommend that the political leadership should take up a more courageous and qualified attitude to Russia.
Some 30 per cent of the Green League supporters call for the same.
The supporters of the National Coalition Party, the Green League, and even of the True Finns tend to belittle Russia more than average while being more suspicious of Finland’s eastern neighbour.
The fact is highlighted for example in the answers given to the question How does Russia affect Finland’s security?
Nevertheless, more than half of respondents believe that Russia has no impact on Finland’s security, while one in five Finns - 21 per cent - thinks that there is actual reason to be afraid of Russia.
The great majority of Finns regard Russia as a military superpower.
At the same time, barely one in two Finnish citizens think that Russia is a major economic power.
The subject has been raised and discussed recently following remarks by the leader of the National Coalition Party Jyrki Katainen.
A total of 48 per cent of all National Coalition supporters do not see Russia as a major economic power, while 45 per cent of the Greens agree with their view.
The supporters of the Left Alliance hold different views: two thirds of them are convinced of Russia’s economic importance.
The survey was conducted between August 31st and September 9th, involving telephone interviews with 1,001 Finns aged over 15 from all parts of the country except the Åland Islands.
The margin of error in the survey is about three percentage points in either direction.
