The Cold War is again being mentioned more and more often in Europe, as it was in the old fifties of the last century. Relations between the West and the East are increasingly complex, especially after Russian interference in Ukraine and the annexation of the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea. Sanctions by the international community against Moscow followed, and Moscow responded in the same way to the EU and the USA.
A survey conducted by Gallup in the summer of 2015 among residents of Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), which consists of Russia and former Soviet republics, showed that for some the biggest threat is Russia, and for others it is the United States of America.
At the end of March this year, the Pentagon announced plans to deploy additional NATO forces to the Alliance's eastern borders in order to prevent Russia's aggressive behavior.
Several members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, which were under the Soviet sphere of influence during the Cold War, fear possible Russian interference in their security and sovereignty issues.
Thus, the inhabitants of Poland, even 69 percent, believe that the biggest threat to them is Russia. In Estonia, that percentage is 58 percent, in Romania 57, Latvia and Lithuania 46, or 42 percent. In the countries of Eastern Europe that are not members of the Union, for the majority of respondents, the US is a bigger threat than Russia.
In Gallup's survey, for example, the residents of Greece do not see either the US or Russia as a threat. 39 percent of them single out Germany as the biggest threat, which is linked to the austerity measures that Berlin insisted on.
Residents of Kosovo and Albania are more likely to name Serbia as a threat than the USA or Russia.
In Serbia, they will say that the biggest threat is the United States, and that is because of American support for Kosovo's independence.
According to Gallup, the views of citizens in the CIS are the most mixed and only slightly more of them will see Russia as a threat rather than the USA. As many as 52 percent of Ukrainians put Russia first because of Moscow's territorial claims throughout history and because of the annexation of Crimea. In Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Belarus, they consider the United States to be the biggest threat. And the majority of Russians, 64 percent of them, see the US as a threat.
And while Ukrainians see Russia as the biggest threat to their country, only five percent of Russians see Ukraine as a threat.
It is interesting that when Gallup asked Americans (in February 2015) which country was the biggest threat to them, 18 percent said it was Russia, and 15 percent said it was North Korea.
The Islamic State militant group, although not a state, has been highlighted as the greatest threat in several countries. 15 percent of Tajiks and Albanians, eight percent of Czechs, slightly fewer Bulgarians and Moldovans - six and five percent - warned about this.
The latest research has shown that the divisions from the Cold War, which ended more than two decades ago, are still alive. Some are with the United States, others are with Russia, although the number of those who are with Russia is decreasing, but the fear of the Russian threat is still alive among those who once fell under the Soviet zone of influence.
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