Most Russians are ready to serve but doubt army's strength

Seventy percent of Russians are ready to fight for their country, but 50% do not think the military is up to defending the country in the event of a real threat, a poll conducted by Romir Monitoring has found, the survey firm told Rosbalt Thursday. At the same time, 45% of the national sample believe the military is capable of defending the country, and 5% were unable to answer the question. Also 22% of respondents said they were not ready to fight for the country. In terms of regions, respondents in the Northwest showed the greatest willingness to defend their country, with the most negative responses coming from the Far East. Relatively frequent negatives also came from residents of cities of more than a million population. The most positive group was students, 84% of whom answered affirmatively as to willingness to fight for the country. People with relatively little schooling were more likely to express unreadiness to join the military if circumstances demanded. The survey polled 1,630 persons.