Mass perception of “foreign agents”: November 2023

Two thirds of Russians know about the law “on foreign agents”. In three years, awareness of this law has increased one and a half times, although most of the respondents still do not have a clear idea about it. At the same time, against the background of the current military conflict over the past two years, the conviction has noticeably strengthened that the law “on foreign agents” is aimed at limiting the negative Western influence on our country. A third of the respondents say that adding a person, media or organization to the register of “foreign agents” will negatively affect the attitude towards them.

Mass perception of “foreign agents”

There is no unambiguous attitude in society to the law on “foreign agents”. At the same time, a year ago, most of the respondents believed that this law was a way of state pressure on independent public organizations. Today, against the background of the consolidation of public opinion around the government and the deepening of the conflict with the West, the opinion is beginning to prevail that the law is designed to “limit the negative influence of the West on our country.” Half of the respondents say that the status of a foreign agent in the media, NGOs or politics does not affect the attitude towards them.

“FOREIGN AGENT”

This survey took place between 9-12 December 2016 and was conducted throughout all of Russia in both urban and rural settings. The survey was carried out among 1600 people over the age of 18 in 137 localities of 48 of the country’s regions. The survey was conducted as a personal interview in respondents’ homes. The […]