Fifty-nine percent of Russians believe that Moscow should not listen to any Western criticism, a report by independent pollster the Levada Center has revealed.

Of those urging the Kremlin to ignore Western complaints, 43 percent saw the West as a “ competitor” who wished to weaken Russia. One in four accused Western nations of “having double standards,” while 21 percent claimed that the West simply “didn't understand their lives.”

Respondents also claimed to be unmoved by more hardline measures. Almost three-quarters of Russians believe that sanctions imposed on Russia are designed to “weaken and humiliate” the country.



Only 13 percent saw the sanctions as a result of the annexation of Crimea.