Poll: More patriots in Ukraine after EURO 2012

KYIV, The EURO 2012 European Football Championship has contributed to growth in the level of patriotism in Ukraine in August 2012, the Rating Sociological Group has said in a press release following the latest survey, which was conducted from August 8 to August 18.

"The most significant increase in a level of patriotism was recorded in the country's eastern regions, the Donbas, as well as western and northern regions. The opposite trends are observed in southern regions. We see the growth of patriotism in the regions that hosted EURO 2012 matches, so we can assume that the growth is largely associated with this event," sociologists said.

Compared to the figures reported two years ago, the number of respondents who consider themselves patriots of their country has increased from 77% to 82%, while compared the figures six months ago, the increase is more significant - from 73% to 82%. In particular, 40% of respondents described themselves as patriots of their country, while 42% said that they were most likely patriots.

Only 10% of respondents said they did not consider themselves patriots, with 8% being undecided.

The largest number of patriots is among supporters of the Svoboda and Batkivshchyna parties, although there is a significant increase in respective sentiments among supporters of the Party of Regions.

Ukrainians, first of all, believe that an object of pride is their country, its people, and their place of birth (34%), land and the territory where they live (29%), national songs, holidays and customs (27%), nature (26%), the country's past and its history (25%), the diligence of Ukrainians and their ability to manage households (25%), and well-known Ukrainians (24%).

A total of 2,000 respondents aged over 18 were surveyed through personal interview.