FOI-R--3990--SE_reducerad

FOI-R--3990--SE
and its political organizations are perceived positively by the Russian-speakers in
these countries. As is noted above, the Centre Party in Estonia even has a
cooperation agreement with the pro-Kremlin ruling party in Russia, United
Russia. 365 In Lithuania, the political mobilization of Russian-speakers is quite
weak and is mostly represented by two parties: the Union of Russians and the
Russian Alliance. On the other hand, a strong Polish political party – the
Electoral Action of Poles (EAP) – plays an important role in the Lithuanian
political landscape.
Political ties with Russia are a delicate issue in Lithuanian politics, as is reflected
in the diagrams below. Political parties, political organizations and NGOs
therefore try to keep a low profile on any such relations. On the other hand, other
political parties deliberately use anti-Russian rhetoric or accuse political
opponents of such ties. 366 It is difficult to analyse or rationally discuss the
connections between Lithuanian political organizations and the Russian
authorities in such an environment.
Diagram 4: Ties with Russia or USA and potential effects on electoral behaviour 367
Say you have a favourite party/politician
for whom you plan to vote and you are
informed that this party/politician has
close ties with Russia. Would you still vote
for this party/politician
Say you have a favourite party/politician
for whom you plan to vote and you are
informed that this party/politician has
close ties with the USA. Would you still
vote for this party/politician
Hard
to
say;
36%
Yes
No
Hard to say
Yes;
19%
No;
45%
Hard
to
say;
35%
No;
25%
Yes
No
Hard to say
Yes;
40%
365 Pelnens, Gatis [ed.] (2009): op. cit. p. 69.
366 See “A. Paulauskas apie pasikeitusį požiūrį į Uspaskichą: buvo noro kerštauti”, Lrt.lt (2013-10-
29),
http://www.lrt.lt/naujienos/lietuvoje/2/28342/a._paulauskas_apie_pasikeitusi_poziuri_i_v._uspaski
cha_buvo_noro_kerstauti.
367 Ainė Ramonaitė, Nerijus Maliukevičius, Mindaugas Degutis, Tarp Rytų ir Vakarų: Lietuvos
visuomenės geokultūrinės nuostatos. Versus Aureus, 2007.
116