Ukrainians against idea of renaming militia into police

Only 21% of Ukrainians favored the idea of renaming militia into police, 43% have a negative attitude to this idea, and 36% of respondents were undecided, according to a survey conducted by the Rating Sociological Group in December 2011.

This idea is most negatively treated in Ukraine by residents of southern regions, mostly elderly people and rural residents. However, sociologists recalled that according to the latest surveys conducted by the Levada Center in the autumn of 2011, such names as "militia" and "militiaman" are clear and close for most Russians (77%), unlike "police" and "policeman" (9%). Nevertheless, militia has already been renamed into police in Russia. The survey was conducted by the Rating Sociological Group on December 16-24, 2011 among 1,000 respondents throughout Ukraine.