58% of Russians consider price increase to be the main problem of society. 40% speak about poverty, impoverishment of the population, the same (39%) point to corruption and bribery. The growth of unemployment (36%) and social stratification (26%) are singled out by somewhat fewer respondents.
Which of the following problems in our society worries you the most, and can be considered to be the most acute?
Socio-economic problems
Back in 2018, 72% of respondents considered price increases to be one of the main problems, now this figure is 58%. The number of those who consider poverty to be one of the main problems has also decreased (52% in 2018, 40% in 2021). Nevertheless, the rise in prices remains the main socio-economic problem.
Problems of power and governance
Corruption remains the most acute problem of government and administration in the opinion of Russians. The importance of this problem in the eyes of respondents has increased since 2015 (24%) and has stabilized at the level of 39-40%. 14% point to the importance of arbitrariness of the officials (18% a year ago). 12% consider the weakness of state power to be a problem, and 7% consider conflicts in the leadership of the country to be a problem.
Social sphere
Inequality remains the most acute problem in the social sphere (26%), although its importance has somewhat decreased – 34% pointed to this problem in 2019. In the second place there is the inaccessibility of many types of medical care (23%) – its importance has also declined since 2018 (31%). In the third place there is the growth of fees and inaccessibility of education (20%), and in the fourth place is the influx of migrants (15%).
Other problems
Among other problems, environmental degradation remains the most urgent (21%), followed by the growth of drug addiction and the crisis of morality – 19%.
This survey was conducted February 18 – 24, 2021, among a representative sample of all Russian urban and rural residents. The sample was comprised of 1601 people aged 18 or older in 137 municipalities of 50 regions of the Russian Federation. The survey was conducted as a personal interview in respondents’ homes. The answer distribution is presented as percentages of the total number of participants along with data from previous surveys.
The statistical error of these studies for a sample of 1600 people (with a probability of 0.95) does not exceed:
3.4% for indicators around 50%
2.9% for indicators around 25%/75%
2.0% for indicators around 10%/90%
1.5% for indicators around 5%/95%
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