Левада-Центр: От мнений

The conflict with Ukraine: attention, support, attitude to negotiations and possible concessions, opinion on the various terms of a peace agreement in February 2025
10.03.2025

About half of the respondents are closely following the events around Ukraine. The majority of respondents support the actions of the Russian military and believe that the special military operation is progressing successfully. More than half of the respondents support the transition to peaceful negotiations, primarily to stop the loss of life. About a third are in favor of continuing military operations, primarily to “bring the matter to an end” and “finish what was started.” According to the majority, the United States should be present at the negotiating table on ending the conflict, in addition to Russia, and one in two respondents believes that Ukraine should participate in the negotiations. The respondents rate the negotiations between Russia and the United States positively. About a third of the respondents are ready to make concessions for the sake of signing a peace agreement. The most preferred terms of the peace treaty, according to the respondents, are: exchange of prisoners of war, ensuring the rights of Russian-speaking citizens of Ukraine and protecting the status of the Russian Orthodox Church. The respondents consider Ukraine’s accession to NATO and the return of new territories to be unacceptable conditions.
Ratings of February 2025: sentiments, opinions on the state of affairs in the country, approval of authorities, trust in politicians and parties, presidential electoral ratings
05.03.2025

In February, the mood of Russians slightly improved: most of the respondents speak of a normal, calm state. The majority of Russians believe that things are going in the right direction in the country. Positive assessments prevail in relation to the authorities, the situation has hardly changed compared to last month. Among the politicians trusted by the respondents, they primarily name V. Putin, S. Lavrov, M. Mishustin, A. Belousov, and S. Sobyanin. If the elections to the State Duma were held next Sunday, the United Russia party would receive more than half of the votes, the Liberal Democratic Party and the Communist Party of the Russian Federation — slightly more than 10% each, the New People and the Just Russia — about 5%.
The conflict with Ukraine in January 2025: attention, support, attitude towards negotiations and possible mediation countries, opinion on the duration and possible outcome of the conflict.
17.02.2025

In January 2025, the level of attention to events around Ukraine increased. The level of support for the actions of the Russian armed forces remains high. The share of respondents who advocate a transition to peaceful negotiations has reached almost two thirds, which is the highest figure for the entire measurement period. Two thirds of the respondents are confident that the participation of mediators in the negotiations between Russia and Ukraine will facilitate the achievement of a peace agreement. The respondents see China and the United States primarily as intermediary countries, but also Turkey, Hungary and India. Over the past year, the number of respondents who believe that the military operations in Ukraine will end in the coming year has increased. Three quarters believe that the conflict will end with Russia’s victory.
Expectations for 2025: hopes, assessments of personal situation as well as economic and political situation in the country
14.01.2025

The majority of respondents believe that the coming year 2025 will be better than the previous year. Three respondents out of four look forward to the new year with hope – slightly more than last year, while this is the highest figure in 12 years. About two thirds of the respondents believe that next year will be stressful for the political and economic life of the country, but for them it will be rather calm. Similar estimates were observed last December. In general, young people, more affluent respondents, and those who are loyal to government policies have more positive expectations for the coming year. On the contrary, older respondents, less well-off respondents, as well as opposition-minded citizens demonstrate more negative views about the coming 2025.
Results of 2024: mass ratings, main events, heroes of the year, films and TV series
08.01.2025

Among the most important events of the past year, the respondents named the attack by the Ukrainian Armed Forces on the Kursk region, the presidential elections in Russia, and the terrorist attack in Crocus City Hall. The majority of respondents rate the outgoing year as “average”. Moreover, the respondents rate the past year more positively for themselves than for Russia as a whole. According to more than half of respondents, the person of 2024 was V. Putin, also mentioned were S. Lavrov, D. Trump, A. Lukashenko, M. Mishustin, S. Jinping, A. Belousov and V. Orban. Nevsky was named the best TV series of 2024, and Cheburashka and Love of the Soviet Union were named the best feature films
Attitude towards the Russian opposition: the most prominent figures, rating and anti-rating of opposition politicians
20.12.2024

Russians consider Gennady Zyuganov, Leonid Slutsky, Sergei Mironov and Mikhail Khodorkovsky* to be the most prominent opposition politicians. At the same time, opposition-minded citizens more often mention Gennady Zyuganov, Nikolai Bondarenko, Sergei Mironov, Ilya Yashin* and Vladimir Kara-Murza*. Representatives of the parliamentary opposition enjoy the greatest approval of Russians, while politicians such as Yulia Navalnaya**, Mikhail Khodorkovsky*, Grigory Yavlinsky, and Garry Kasparov* ** rank the worst. Among the opposition—minded citizens, such politicians as Gennady Zyuganov, Pavel Grudinin, Leonid Slutsky, Mikhail Khodorkovsky* and Yulia Navalnaya** enjoy the greatest confidence; Grigory Yavlinsky, Yulia Navalnaya**, Gennady Zyuganov and Mikhail Khodorkovsky* have the greatest anti-rating. Most of the respondents do not know anything about the opposition protests that took place on November 17 in Berlin and other cities. A neutral attitude towards the participants of these demonstrations prevails among the respondents.
Smoking in Russia: October 2024
18.12.2024

The number of people who have never smoked has increased slightly over the past 20 years. The number of smokers (those who currently smoke) is also decreasing. Among young people, the proportion of non-smokers is higher than among representatives of other ages. Young women smoke the least. Those who have smokers among their family members are more likely to smoke. Most smokers smoke regular cigarettes. However, the number of consumers of tobacco heating systems, vapes and disposable electronic cigarettes is growing.

What Mark Did Yevgeny Prigozhin’s “Mutiny” Leave on Public Opinion?
07.07.2023

Based on end-of-June survey and focus group discussions, Denis Volkov writes that the prevailing opinion among Russians is that Prigozhin’s “march on Moscow” has not weakened the authority of the central government and some believe it has even strengthened it.
No End in Sight: Why Russians Do Not Expect the Conflict in Ukraine to End Anytime Soon
13.06.2023

Based on regular surveys and focus group discussions, Denis Volkov for Russia.Post writes that events in May – including the successes of the Wagner group and Ukraine’s attacks on Russian territory – convince people that the war in Ukraine should be continued.
Are Meaningful Public Opinion Polls Possible in Today’s Russia?
24.04.2023

Ever since Vladimir Putin announced the start of a special military operation (SMO), public opinion polls in Russia have been criticized with renewed vigor. Usually, critics give the following reasons why Russian polls cannot be trusted. Some argue that in 2022, the response rate has declined sharply and people’s reluctance to participate in surveys has increased. Others say that respondents interrupt interviews as soon as the conversation turns to events in Ukraine. Some say that only supporters of the government are now participating in the polls, while opposition-minded citizens prefer to abstain. Others speak of survey list experiments, which seem to show lower support rates, and claim that these show the “real mood” of the people. Finally, the most extreme critics of polls say that polls are not relevant because they do not show what people “really think.” Let us take a look at each of these allegations in turn.

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