The survey comes after publication of a CIA assessment that Russia intervened in the 2016 election, in part to help Donald Trump become president. That conclusion was endorsed last week by the FBI and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. Trump has said that he doesn’t believe the CIA’s findings, calling them “ridiculous” in a Fox News Sunday interview this month.

Compared with other countries, Russia continues to be significantly less popular with the American public than its closest neighbors and its largest international rival. Russia’s overall rating, 32, is 11 percentage points behind China’s 41, and far behind Mexico’s 55 and Canada’s 76.

Among the seven countries tested in the Chicago Council poll, only North Korea ranks below Russia at 20. Russia’s score also ranks above Iran’s average rating of 26 when it was included in the survey.

Republicans and Democrats appear to have reacted differently to Russia since the election. Democrats have recoiled most sharply from Russia in the past six months, with their average rating of the nation dropping 12 percentage points since June, from 40 to 28 on the 0-to-100 scale. Republicans’ ratings have hardly budged, from an average rating of 38 this summer to 35 today.

Although Republicans have not mimicked Democrats, the Chicago Council poll contrasts with other polling this month that found Republicans warming toward Russia’s president and the country overall. An Economist/YouGov poll found a growing percentage of Republicans rating Vladimir Putin favorably since 2014 (a longer over-time comparison) and a shrinking share saying Russia is either unfriendly or an enemy compared with last summer.

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In the Chicago Council poll, only 15 percent of Republicans rate their feelings toward Russia as positive (between 51 and 100 on a 0-100 scale), slightly down from 20 percent in June. Over 6 in 10 Republicans rate Russia below 50 on this scale (63 percent), a number that rises to 70 percent among Democrats.

Regardless of skepticism toward Russia, the poll found large majorities saying they favor cooperation with Russia to end the conflict in Syria (78 percent), limit Iran’s nuclear program (79 percent) and reduce nuclear weapons worldwide (80 percent).

Nonetheless, the historically negative marks for Russia suggest that Americans are deeply skeptical of the country, making the prospect of closer ties under a Trump administration a difficult sell to the broader public.

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