The article presents the results of the research "Humanitarian interests of the population of the Commonwealth of Independent States as the basis of integration: what brings us together and makes interesting to each other?" carried out in 2008 by the "Eurasia Monitor" international research agency with the assistance of the Interstate Foundation for Humanitarian Cooperation of the CIS states. On the basis of the detailed analysis of cognitive and practical interests of the citizens of the former Soviet republics towards their neighbours in the post-soviet space, that were revealed during the opinion polls, I. Zadorin strongly proves that mutual interest between the CIS citizens is quite low today and is often purely declarative. Such situation is seen by the author as even more alerting, since the study has discovered a correlation between the level of population's knowledge of other cultures (frequency of visits to other countries, participation in their cultural or sporting events, etc.) and its readiness for unions and integration. The more respondents in a country say that they are acquainted with other cultures, the more inclined to integration these nations are.
