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Inflation Feared More Than Terrorism

Alcoholism and inflation scare Russians much more than terrorism and extremism, according to a new poll.

About 57 percent of Russians are afraid of alcohol and drug addiction, while 55 percent fear inflation, and 50 percent — unemployment, state-run pollster VTsIOM said in an Aug. 14-15 survey released Friday.

Other major worries are corruption (41 percent) and crime (32 percent).

Far less worrisome are terrorism and environmental problems, each of which was identified by 22 percent of respondents.

Only 5 percent of respondents voiced worries of extremism.

The survey quizzed 1,600 people in 140 towns and cities in 42 regions. Its margin of error was 3.4 percentage points.

A similar survey in 2007 found that Russians' biggest fear was the death of loved ones (28 percent) and war and massacres (18 percent). Unemployment and inflation weren't mentioned at all.

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