Among the most outstanding people of all time and nations as of April 2025, respondents most often named political figures, poets, scientists, and military leaders. Russians consider I. Stalin to be the most outstanding person of all time, as well as V. Putin, V. Lenin, and A. Pushkin. Older respondents more often mentioned figures from the Soviet era, while young people more often mentioned contemporaries or poets and scientists from the pre-Soviet period.
Month: June 2025
The conflict with Ukraine: attention, support, attitude to the negotiations in Istanbul and various conflict resolution options
In May 2025, attention to the Ukrainian events increased – more than half of the respondents are closely monitoring the situation. The share of respondents who support the actions of the Russian armed forces in Ukraine has increased slightly. The share of Russians in favor of peace talks reached two-thirds of the sample. The respondents named the Istanbul talks as one of the main events of the past month. The vast majority of Russians support these negotiations because they mean the return of prisoners of war and bring the conflict closer to resolution. Respondents who do not support the Istanbul talks explain this by saying that these negotiations will lead to nothing. The majority of respondents support the Russian formula of negotiations, in which the root causes are eliminated first and only then a cease-fire occurs. Respondents blame the Ukrainian side and European countries for their unwillingness to resolve the conflict.
Level of xenophobia and interethnic tension, attitudes towards newcomers, possibility of clashes on ethnic grounds: April 2025
The attitude of Russians towards migrants remains negative: the majority of respondents believe that they increase crime rates and negatively affect the economy and culture. Seven out of ten respondents believe that the influx of newcomers should be limited and all illegal migrants should be expelled from the country. At the same time, the majority of respondents do not feel interethnic tension in their place of residence, do not feel open hostility from people of other nationalities and do not experience it themselves. However, up to a third of respondents consider mass clashes possible at the national level within the country.