Russians consider Belarus, Kazakhstan most successful countries in CIS

       Russians believe Belarus and Kazakhstan are the most successful countries in the Commonwealth of Independent States, the opinion survey by the Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VTsIOM) has shown, the official website of the organization reports. The survey was held ahead of the launch of the new integration project - the Eurasian Economic Union. Belarus (66%) and Kazakhstan (45%) remain in the top positions of the ranking. Moreover, this year the Russians’ opinion has become even stronger as against the results of 2013. Some 65% of Russians believe Belarus has the best relations with Russia among all the CIS member states. The Presidents of Belarus and Kazakhstan lead the ranking of the most trustworthy heads of state in the CIS: Alexander Lukashenko got 61% of the vote and Nursultan Nazarbayev 38%. The rest of the candidates got less than 10% of the votes. Russians also believe the rights of the Russian-speaking population are best protected in Belarus (63%) and Kazakhstan (31%).