While I had the RJ street poll archives open, I remembered that back on 9/11 or shortly thereafter Doug asked about the street-level reaction in Russia. Here, 6 months later, is the poll we ran on the subject.
Chris Doss The Russia Journal ---------------------------
This article was published in The Russia Journal ISSUE No.36 (129), DATE: 2001-09-14
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- RJ street Poll – WHAT IS YOUR REACTION TO THE TERRORIST ATTACKS IN AMERICA?
By DMITRY BULGAKOV
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Maxim Artemiev, 16, university student
I’m depressed by what I saw yesterday on TV. How many innocent people were killed, for what purpose? But I think that America shouldn’t make any early attacks. If it does, a third world war might be launched. The situation should be resolved. If America, for instance, takes any action against Islamic countries, I fear a great war is ahead. All problems should be solved peacefully. Moreover, it’s too early to say exactly who is to be blamed. There are some suspicions against the Japanese radical Red Army or other terrorist organizations.
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Galina Baturova, 43, math teacher
I’m outraged by what’s happened. I spent the whole evening in front of the television and watched all those pictures. It’s so tragic that so many people were killed. They were completely innocent. It’s still unclear why the terrorists did this. Why did they sacrifice their lives? My conscience simply can’t understand that. The whole world is on alert. We have some fears about our security too. But nevertheless, America shouldn’t retaliate fiercely.
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Aggasi Nadtakyan, 35, builder
What occurred is horrific. I’m from Armenia, where we’ve gone through many losses as well. I understand how tragic it is. So, from my point of view, I want to express all my condolences. Russia and the United States are in the same boat. They turned out to be extremely vulnerable to such terrorism, with the Moscow bomb attacks and these latest attacks in New York. It’s an illness, a plague. Russia and America should fight together against terrorism, the plague of the 21st century.
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Aleksandr Ulyanov, 52, Moscow gov. worker
As do all reasonable people, I share the deepest feelings of concern and horror. Certainly I feel pain for all those who were massacred there. America should first figure out who is responsible for the attacks and then, using localized hits, crack down on the terrorists. Terrorists who commit such bloody attacks have neither soul nor heart. They are not even human beings. I believe that America and Russia should unite their efforts in the struggle against international terrorism.
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Nadezhda Ivanova, 65, janitor
I can’t even begin to put my anger toward those killers into words. If they are suicide attackers, they should kill themselves and leave people in peace. But one thing still disturbs me. Americans interfere in the lives of other people. They don’t have a right to meddle in the internal affairs of other countries. They see themselves as the center of the universe. So, I object to those American interferences, though that doesn’t justify such attacks. I fear that what Nostradamus wrote might happen, that a new war might be unleashed.
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Tatyana Khlopayeva, 48, storekeeper
I feel sorry for the ordinary people of America. I’m not a big politician and unfortunately I can’t analyze everything. But what I can say is all around the world we are all people and we should support each other. Those Moscow attacks two years ago and now these recent attacks in America should teach us to come together and tackle common security problems together. Both our lives and their lives are under threat, and we should stand by each other to face these problems.