The most memorable events of the first month of 2021 for Russians were the protests on January 23 and 31 – they were mentioned by 45% of respondents. The news related to the coronavirus came next by a wide margin – 12% and the return of Alexei Navalny by 11%. Another 7% mentioned events in the United States – the inauguration of Biden and the storming of the US Capitol.

Only 4% of Russians believe that the investigative film “Palace for Putin” can be called the main event of January and early February.

This survey was conducted January 29 – February 2, 2021, among a representative sample of all Russian urban and rural residents. The sample was comprised of 1616 people aged 18 or older in 137 municipalities of 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 total number of participants along with data from previous surveys.

The statistical error of these studies for a sample 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%

The ANO Levada Center has been included in the registry of non-commercial organizations acting as foreign agents. Read the Director of the Levada Center’s statement of disagreement with this decision here.