Russians express a wide variety of definitions when asked to explain the expression "national integrity".

Many respondents believe this means not only territorial integrity and the inviolability of state borders, but also the unity of all citizens and ethnic groups living in the country ("when all the people stick together in good times and in bad") and the absence of inter-national conflicts. The country is seen as integrated when there are no independent "princes" and all the government structures are centralized ("a united government and political course") and a "strong vertical power structure" is in place. Some respondents mentioned domestic tranquility, the absence of local regional wars, a unified legislative base, observation of the laws by all citizens, stability and order, a developed and stable economy, and high living standards as signs of national integrity. Thus the expression "national integrity" seems to many respondents to mean "universal welfare".

Quite a few people (about every sixth respondent) among those who answered the question say they would consider Russia to be integrated only if the former Soviet republics reunited with it. These people apparently still consider the USSR to be their country: "it was a country in the past, but today it is just a fragment".

Given the criteria mentioned above, contemporary Russia seems to be lacking in national integrity. Most Russians (52%) think there are topical problems in society that could lead to the nation's collapse (only 27% say there are no such problems). They believe the most dangerous problems are social inequality, differences in living standards at the regional level, as well as poor living standards in general, unemployment, and ethnic strife. The ambitions of regional authorities were mentioned slightly less often ("every prince wants to become a king"); corruption in the government, the weakness of federal authorities, the Chechen war, terrorism, and crime were also mentioned.

According to 58% of respondents, there are certain forces that want Russia to collapse (only 13% hold the opposite opinion). One-fourth of the respondents who named enemies of Russia's national integrity mentioned foreign sources of strife, such as the US, Japan, China, Israel, Ukraine, Georgia, or "Islamic countries"...

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