This survey was carried out October 24–30, 2019 with a representative sample of all Russian urban and rural residents. The sample comprised 1616 people ages 18 or older from 137 localities in 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 number of participants along with data from previous surveys.
The statistical error of these studies for a selection 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%
WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING OPINIONS CONCERNING THE DEATH PENALTY WOULD YOU AGREE WITH? (respondents were presented with a card and could only choose one answer)
| Feb. 02 | Apr. 07 | Jun. 09 | Jun. 13 | Jun. 15 | Jan. 17 | Oct. 19 | |
| The death penalty should be completely abolished | 12 | 19 | 14 | 11 | 14 | 16 | 19 |
| The status quo should be maintained (death sentences have been suspended; courts have ceased passing death sentences) | 12 | 19 | 20 | 23 | 27 | 25 | 21 |
| The death penalty should be restored to past levels (like it was at the beginning of the 1990s) | 49 | 39 | 37 | 38 | 31 | 32 | 33 |
| More death penalties should be carried out | 19 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 13 | 12 | 16 |
| It is difficult to say | 8 | 10 | 13 | 11 | 16 | 15 | 10 |
Opinions on death penalty in relation to age and education level
| Age | Education | ||||||
| 18-24 | 25-39 | 40-54 | 55+ | Higher | Vocational | Secondary and below | |
| The death penalty should be completely abolished | 35 | 20 | 16 | 16 | 23 | 17 | 19 |
| The status quo should be maintained (death sentences have been suspended; courts have ceased passing death sentences) | 21 | 26 | 22 | 18 | 24 | 22 | 17 |
| The death penalty should be restored to past levels (like it was at the beginning of the 1990s) | 26 | 29 | 36 | 38 | 31 | 34 | 37 |
| More death penalties should be carried out | 9 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 15 | 17 | 16 |
| It is difficult to say | 10 | 8 | 10 | 11 | 8 | 10 | 12 |
FOR WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING CRIMES WOULD YOU SUGGEST THE DEATH PENALTY AS A PUNISHMENT? (respondents were presented with a card from which they could choose more than one answer; ranked in descending order according to October 2019)
| Jul. 07 | Oct. 19 | |
| The rape of minors | 65 | 72 |
| Serial murder | 71 | 64 |
| Premeditated murder | 48 | 45 |
| Terrorism, plotting a coup d’état | 32 | 44 |
| Drug trafficking | 39 | 39 |
| Corruption | 16 | 26 |
| Treason, espionage (in peacetime) | 13 | 18 |
| Assassination attempt on the head of government | 9 | 12 |
| Armed robbery | 11 | 11 |
| Other (“pedophilia,” “animal cruelty,” “kidnapping,” etc.) |
1 | 1 |
| The death penalty is unacceptable in all cases | 8 | 11 |
| It is difficult to say | 4 | 3 |
WHAT MEASURES ARE MOST LIKELY TO HELP LOWER CRIME RATES? (respondents were presented with a card from which they could choose more than one answer; ranked in descending order)
| Oct. 19 | |
| More severe punishments | 45 |
| Better and more effective work by the police and law-enforcement agencies | 44 |
| A general improvement in people’s well-being | 38 |
| Teaching people to be more tolerant of others and respectful of others’ lives | 27 |
| Ensuring the independence of courts from the executive branch of government and their impartiality | 24 |
| Other (“decreasing social stratification,” “private judges,” “making punishment inescapable,” etc.) | 1 |
| None | 2 |
| It is difficult to say | 4 |
In July 2017, the question allowed only one answer, and we, therefore, calculated the answers for October 2019 to 100%
| Jul.07 | Oct.19 | |
| More severe punishments | 31 | 25 |
| Better and more effective work by the police and law-enforcement agencies | 17 | 24 |
| A general improvement in people’s well-being | 23 | 20 |
| Teaching people to be more tolerant of others and respectful of others’ lives | 17 | 14 |
| Ensuring the independence of courts from the executive branch of government and their impartiality |
7 | 13 |
| Other (“decreasing social stratification,” “private judges,” “making punishment inescapable,” etc.) | 1 | 1 |
| None | 1 | 1 |
| It is difficult to say | 3 | 2 |
Translated by Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey (formerly Monterey Institute of International Studies).
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