MOSCOW, October 8 (RIA Novosti) - An opinion poll said that 46% of Russians do not believe there is a need for a Russia-Belarus Union State, although the two countries should maintain good bilateral relations.

According to the poll conducted by the All-Russian Public Opinion Research Center, some 50% of respondents believe that the former Soviet state is a friendly nation for Russia. However, last year only 39% of respondents thought that Russia and Belarus needed a union state.

Some 34% of Russians hold a favorable opinion of the Belarusian long-time leader, Alexander Lukashenko, who has served as president since 1994, the pollster said. Meanwhile, another 34% of respondents believe that not everyone likes Lukashenko, once branded "Europe's last dictator" by Western media.

However, the poll indicated that Russians are unsure as to the kind of political regime Belarus currently has. Some 28% of respondents said Belarus is a democracy, while 19% of Russians said the country has an authoritarian regime. Another 13% of respondents said Belarus is a socialist state, while 7% of respondents said Belarus is a totalitarian state.

The opinion poll was conducted on October 4-5 in a total of 42 regions with a sample of 1,600 respondents and a 3.4% margin of error.

The Russia-Belarus Union State is a supranational entity consisting of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus. It was formed in 1996 "with the intention of providing greater political, economic, and social integration."