The number of Russian citizens who do not approve of the introduction of the food embargo has doubled over the past one and a half years, the RIA Novosti news agency reported Wednesday, citing the results of a poll.
In August last year, when the food ban was introduced, only 9 percent of Russians spoke out against the ban, while in November this year, 20 percent of respondents expressed their disapproval of the measure, the poll conducted by the state-run pollster VTsIOM revealed, according to RIA.
However, the majority of Russian citizens still support the ban on food imports, despite the number decreasing from 84 to 73 over the past 1.5 years, according to the findings.
The poll also found that now, fewer Russians consider the food ban an effective measure. According to the poll, the number dropped from 80 to 63 percent since August 2014.
The poll was conducted on Nov. 14-15 among 1,600 participants in 46 Russian regions, and had a margin of error not exceeding 3.5 percent.
Russia introduced a food ban on a wide range of Western food imports, including fruit, vegetables, poultry, meat and dairy products, in response to the sanctions by the United States and the European Union against Russia over its involvement in the Ukraine conflict.
In June, Russia prolonged the food embargo for another year after Western leaders decided to extend anti-Russian sanctions.
In December, the Kremlin also imposed a food embargo on Turkey as part of sanctions against the country over the downing of Russian warplane near the Syrian border.
The ban, which comes into force on Jan.1, 2016, affects Turkish fruit and vegetables as well as poultry and salt.
Contact the author at a.bazenkova@imedia.ru
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