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.
Press-releases
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.
Perceptions of friendly and unfriendly countries, relations with the West, attitudes towards certain countries and destinations for foreign travel
In May 2025, respondents named Belarus, China, Kazakhstan, India and North Korea as the friendliest countries for Russia. The most hostile were Germany, Great Britain, Ukraine, the USA and Poland; for the first time in 20 years of measurements, the USA dropped from first to fourth place in this list. Two thirds of respondents are confident that relations between Russia and the West will always be based on mistrust (the highest level in the entire observation period), while the absolute majority of respondents are in favor of détente. The attitude towards India and Brazil is predominantly positive, the attitude towards the USA and Japan is almost equally divided, the attitude towards European countries is predominantly negative, and 3/4 of Russians have a negative attitude towards Ukraine. Most often, respondents have visited neighboring countries, and least often – America
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.
Sentiments about emigration and attitudes towards those who left: April 2025
Nine out of ten Russians would not like to move abroad permanently, which is the highest figure in 35 years of observation. Young people and opposition-minded citizens are more likely to move than others. The main reasons for moving, according to respondents, are an interest in another culture, a desire to provide their children with a decent future abroad, and the economic and political situation in Russia. Respondents most often name the United States, Spain, Italy and other European countries, as well as South Korea and Australia, as the destination for their relocation. Almost every fifth respondent has relatives or friends who have left Russia in the last two or three years. The attitude towards those who left Russia is ambiguous: some consider them traitors, while others say that they want to achieve more abroad.
Sources of information: frequency of use and trust, news fatigue, popular journalists and bloggers
Television is still the main source of information for Russians, but the total audience of Internet sources exceeds the television audience. For the first time, the share of the daily audience of online sources exceeded the share of those who watch news on television every day. Younger, educated, and well-off respondents are more likely to learn about news from the Internet. Older, less educated, and less well-off people watch news on television more often. About one in ten people learns the news on the radio, and the portrait of a radio listener is similar to that of a television viewer. During the Soviet era, two thirds of the respondents listened to radio more or less regularly, primarily Radio Mayak, and about 8% listened to foreign radio stations. The respondents believe that they are better versed in Russian events than in foreign ones. At the same time, most people do not feel tired from the daily news. V. Solovyov was named the most popular journalist/blogger, the respondents also mentioned O. Skabeeva, E. Popov, D. Kiselev and E. Poddubny. Poddubny.
The conflict with Ukraine in April 2025: attention, support, attitude towards negotiations, attitude towards the participants in the Special Military Operation
Attention to the Ukrainian events has been decreasing in recent months. The level of support for the actions of the Russian Armed Forces in Ukraine remains high. Over a half of the respondents believe that peace negotiations should be initiated, and about a third believe that military operations should be continued. There is no clear opinion in society about whether the “special military operation” has brought more benefit or harm. Respondents see benefits in the return of territories, the liberation of people, import substitution, and strengthening Russia’s authority in the world. The harm lies in the death of people. Most of the respondents believe that the veterans of the Special Military Operation are treated with respect in society. The respondents believe that after the completion of the “special military operation”, its participants will first of all be able to find themselves in military affairs, law enforcement agencies or in the field of youth education.
Ratings of April 2025: sentiments, opinions on the state of affairs in the country, approval of authorities, trust in politicians and parties, presidential electoral ratings
The mood of Russians has been improving for the second month: two thirds are in a normal state, one in five is in a great mood (maximum values). The majority of respondents believe that the country is moving in the right direction, almost one in five – in the wrong direction. Those who believe that things are going in the right direction in the country most often have in mind proper domestic and foreign policy (social and economic development, the special military operation). Those who believe that the country is moving along the wrong path explain their point of view by economic (inflation, low pensions/salaries, unemployment) and political (irremovability of power, wrong policies, corruption) problems. Positive assessments prevail with regard to the authorities, in comparison with the measurements of the previous months the situation has not changed much. The top ten politicians trusted by the respondents have not changed much, most of all they trust V. Putin, M. Mishustin, S. Lavrov. If elections to the State Duma were held this Sunday, the United Russia party would receive more than half of the votes, the LDPR — 14%, the Communist Party — 10%, the New People – 6%, the Just Russia – 5%. If presidential elections were held this weekend, V. Putin would win the majority of votes, other politicians were mentioned by less than 1% of respondents.
Problems with access to Internet resources and using VPN: March 2025
Over the past month, a third of respondents have faced the inability to access familiar digital services. The same proportion of Russians use VPN services to access the Internet. Both of these groups have grown in number since last year. Young people, more educated and affluent respondents, as well as opposition-minded citizens are more likely to say that they have encountered blockages, and use VPNs.