Levada-Center: From opinion to understanding

Conflict with Ukraine: Estimates of May 2023
07.06.2023

The level of attention to the Ukrainian events and support for the actions of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation have not changed much over the past month. Against the background of the capture of Bakhmut (Artemovsk) by Russian troops, the share of respondents who support the continuation of hostilities has increased – their number has slightly exceeded the number of supporters of peace negotiations for the first time since August of last year. More than half of the respondents believe that the “special operation” is progressing successfully. The prevailing opinion is that military operations will drag on for another six months or longer, and confidence in this has been steadily increasing over the past year.
Approval of Institutions, Ratings of Politicians: May 2023
07.06.2023

In May, as in the last few months, the assessments of the activities of the main public authorities have not changed significantly, the level of approval remains high. The majority of respondents still believe that things are going in the right direction in the country. The trust of the main public and state also has not changed much, while Yevgeny Prigozhin got into the top ten for the first time.
Memorable Events of April
07.06.2023

The most mentioned events in April are those related to the “special operation” (17%), while the share of such responses continues to decline: in March 2022, 75% of respondents remembered it, in April — 63%, in May — 42%, in July — 32%, in August — 34%., in September — 35%, in October – 36%, in November – 47%, in December – 30%, in January 2023 – 31%, in February – 25%, in March – 19%. In addition, in April, respondents talked about holidays (8%), the fall of a bomb on Belgorod, various natural phenomena, and the murder of military commander Vladlen Tatarsky (3% each).
Public opinion about the murder of Vladlen Tatarsky and the fear of terrorist attacks
02.06.2023

75% of respondents know about the explosion in a St. Petersburg cafe, which killed war correspondent Vladlen Tatarsky. Most of the respondents believe that Ukrainian special services, Ukrainian nationalists or Western special services are behind this. At the same time, Tatarsky’s murder did not lead to a surge of fears among respondents to be a victim of terrorist attacks themselves.
Religious beliefs
02.06.2023

72% of respondents consider themselves Orthodox, 18% either do not consider themselves to be of any religion, or are atheists. 40% say that religion plays an important role in their lives, 45% consider themselves religious people – their share has decreased slightly over the year. One tenth of the respondents attend religious services at least once a month.
Army: partial mobilization, electronic army draft, compensations to the participants of the Special Military Operation and conscription service
02.06.2023

The majority of respondents believe that a new wave of mobilization will be announced in the next 3 months. More than half of the respondents are not ready to pay an additional 1-2 thousand rubles for army maintenance. Half support raising the upper threshold of military age. Most of the respondents are aware of the changes in the law on military service, the prevailing feelings in this regard are negative.
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.

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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