The “Russian Public Opinion – 2024” is an English version of the Levada-Center’s Yearbook that presents the results of public opinion surveys in 2024 in comparison with the data for previous years. Some questions have long-term trend. The free electronic copy of the book in English (2024) is available now.
Publications
Future estimates and planning horizon: October 2025
About half of Russians look at their own future and the future of Russia with calmness and confidence, but positive assessments have been decreasing slightly in the last two years. Almost half of the respondents have no plans for the future. About the same number say they don’t know what will happen to them even in the coming months. Approximately one in five respondents plans their lives for 5-6 years or more ahead. They have more positive assessments of the future, and they also plan their lives for a longer period of time, most often young people who are more affluent and loyal to government policies.
Institutional Trust: September 2025
After a sharp increase in 2022, the level of institutional confidence has remained high in recent years, and in the September measurement, most indicators have again updated their maximum values. As before, Russians most often talk about trusting the president, the army, the security services, the government, and the church. The respondents are least likely to talk about trust in political parties, trade unions, and large Russian businesses.
Ukraine conflict: attention, support, attitudes toward negotiations and possible scenarios for ending the conflict in September 2025
In September, half of respondents followed events around Ukraine with some attention. Support for the actions of Russian troops remains consistently high. The share of those favoring a shift to peace negotiations has been above 60% over the past six months. Most respondents would support a decision by Vladimir Putin to end the military conflict with Ukraine “this week.” However, if ending the conflict required returning the annexed territories, only a third of respondents would support the president’s decision.
Problems with mobile Internet and blocking of foreign messengers
Most of the respondents had problems accessing the Internet on their mobile phones and problems with messengers. It made life difficult for half of them in one way or another. On the issue of support for blocking calls in foreign messengers, society is divided almost equally: a slightly larger part supports this decision, but almost as many do not support it. Supporters of blocking justify their support by “fighting scammers,” while opponents justify their support by “inconveniencing communication with family, friends, and work.” About half of the respondents support Internet censorship in principle because of dangerous sites and materials, and a third oppose Internet censorship. WhatsApp (owned by Meta, which is recognized as an extremist organization in Russia and banned) and Telegram remain the most popular messaging and calling applications. Today, about 6% of Russians use the national messenger MAX.
The summit of the Presidents of Russia and the United States in Alaska and the improvement of Russian-American relations
The majority of Russians have a positive attitude towards the talks between the presidents of Russia and the United States in Alaska. One in two believes that this meeting will help end the conflict in Ukraine and have a positive impact on relations between the two countries. Attitudes towards the United States continue to improve rapidly; today, less than a third of respondents have a negative attitude towards United States. About half of Russians rate the current relations between Russia and the United States as negative, but the share of positive assessments is growing. Today, the attitude towards the United States in Russia has returned to its before-2014 levels.
Conflict with Ukraine: attention, support, attitude to negotiations, use of nuclear weapons, possibility of conflict between Russia and NATO
In June 2025, half of the respondents followed the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. Three quarters supported the actions of the Russian armed forces. At the same time, two thirds of Russians would like to start peace negotiations. Compared to last year, the proportion of people who consider the use of nuclear weapons in the current conflict to be justified has significantly decreased. More than half of the respondents today still fear that the situation could escalate into an armed clash between Russia and NATO
Ratings of June 2025: sentiments, opinions on the state of affairs in the country, approval of authorities, trust in politicians and parties, presidential electoral ratings
Most Russians are in a normal, even state, the proportion of those who say they are in a good mood is slightly decreasing, and the proportion of those who experience negative emotions is slightly increasing. The majority of respondents believe that the country is moving in the right direction. Positive assessments prevail with regard to government authorities, however, compared to last month, there is a slight decrease in the approval levels of the State Duma and the government. According to the open-ended question, Russians trust Vladimir Putin, Mikhail Mishustin, and Sergey Lavrov the most.
The Most Outstanding People of All Time and Nations: April 2025
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.
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.