Strategic Partnership, Public Distance: Iranian Image in Russian Public Opinion

This study examines Russian public attitudes toward Iran over more than two decades, using survey data in Russian and English from the Levada Center, VCIOM, and the Public Opinion Foundation. The findings indicate that attitudes, particularly following Russia’s war against Ukraine, have modestly improved, but these changes remain primarily political and transient rather than structured, deep, and enduring. Overall, a gap persists between the closer political and strategic alignment between Iran and Russia in recent years and Russian public perceptions of Iran, indicating that closer official relations have not necessarily translated into greater social and perceptual convergence.