Kim Hjelmgaard

USA TODAY

MOSCOW — Donald Trump's election has sparked shock, revulsion and protests around much of the world. But in Russia, the president-elect is being embraced with widespread approval.

In fact, many here think he'll be one of the best American presidents ever.

Just under half of those surveyed after the U.S. election by VTSIOM, a state-run research center, said that if given the opportunity, they would have voted for the billionaire New York businessman. Only 4% said they would have backed Democrat Hillary Clinton, who took a hard line against Russia during her tenure as secretary of State.

The survey found that about a third of Russians think Trump will likely go on to become one of the best presidents in U.S. history.

"Trump is a huge advantage for Russia," said Muscovite Gleb Samorukov. "It's clear Trump's willing to figure out some of the problems we have between our two countries."

Samorukov said he believes Russia is doing its best to resolve differences with the U.S. over Russia's annexation of Crimea and its backing of separatists in eastern Ukraine, as well as disagreements about how to deal with the civil war in Syria and President Bashar Assad.

President Obama has had tense relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin since Russia's intervention in neighboring Ukraine in 2014, a move that prompted Western sanctions against Russia.

The two men also have clashed over Syria's war: Russia's military is supporting Assad against rebel groups, while Obama is supporting some of those rebels and wants the Syrian leader to step down because of brutal attacks on civilians.

In another flash point, U.S. intelligence agencies allege that the Russian government tried to interfere in the U.S. election by hacking into the email accounts of the Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee, a charge Putin denies.

By contrast, candidate Trump praised Putin's strong leadership style and promised after his election to improve relations with a country that had been the United State's longtime Cold War rival.

"It's definitely changed the atmosphere for the good," said Ian Artemey, an economics student from St. Petersburg. "I like him."

Russians also like Putin — a lot, if state-run media and polls can be believed. His approval ratings have soared amid the increase in tensions with the U.S., reaching an all-time high of nearly 90% in October, VTSIOM found.

Mark Galeotti, an expert on Russia at the Institute of International Relations in Prague, said Putin appears more comfortable with a Trump presidency, at least for now.

"There is inevitably a degree of delight at seeing the obvious dismay (about Trump's election) among U.S. allies, especially in Europe," Galeotti said. "There are some prospects economic sanctions might be lifted or moderated, and on this issue, where Washington leads, the Europeans will certainly follow."

Long term, though, Trump is not necessarily what Russia's government would have wanted and could worry the Kremlin, Galeotti said.

"Putin has capitalized on his ability to break the rules and get in the West's face, relying on our willingness to broker compromise. With Trump, there is much less certainty this will be the case," he said.

Trump's "evident dislike of entangling alliances, his half-heartedness toward NATO, may well worry Europe enough that it takes its security much more seriously," Galeotti added. "We could see European defense budgets growing and the European Union becoming more directly involved in defense coordination."