The vast majority of Russians (86%) consistently support the accession of Crimea to Russia – this indicator has fluctuated slightly since 2014. 9% do not support the accession.
Do you support the accession of Crimea to Russia?
| Mar.14 | Mar.15 | Mar.16 | Sep.17 | Mar.18 | Mar.19 | Mar.21 | |
| Definitely yes | 57 | 55 | 57 | 52 | 53 | 58 | 55 |
| Rather yes | 31 | 33 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 28 | 31 |
| Rather not | 6 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 6 |
| Definitely not | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 3 |
| It is difficult to say | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 5 |
Among the respondents who believe that the country is moving in the right direction, 95% more or less support the accession of the peninsula. Among those who believe that the country is moving in the wrong direction, the level of support of accession is lower – 78%.
94% of the respondents who approve of the activities of Vladimir Putin support the annexation of Crimea. Among those who do not approve of the activities of the President, the level of support for the annexation is 75%.
A slightly smaller, but still consistently high proportion of Russians believe that the annexation of Crimea has brought more benefit to Russia than harm – 69%. One fifth of respondents (18%) believe that the accession has done more harm than good.
Do you think the annexation of Crimea did Russia as a whole more good or more harm?
| Mar.15 | Aug.15 | Nov.15 | Jan.16 | Feb.16 | Nov.16 | Mar.17 | Sep.17 | Mar.18 | Mar.19 | Mar.21 | |
| More good | 70 | 59 | 59 | 61 | 62 | 64 | 64 | 63 | 70 | 65 | 69 |
| More harm | 18 | 23 | 22 | 20 | 20 | 19 | 23 | 21 | 15 | 19 | 18 |
| It is difficult to say | 12 | 18 | 18 | 19 | 18 | 18 | 13 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 14 |
84% of respondents who believe that the country is moving in the right direction believe that the annexation of Crimea to Russia has done the country more good than harm. Among those who believe that things in the country are going badly, 54% think so. One-third (32%) believe that the accession of the peninsula has done more harm.
79% of those who approve of Vladimir Putin’s activities believe that accession has brought more benefits to the country, and 9% – more harm. Among those who do not approve of the president’s activities, the figures are 50% and 34%, respectively.
16% of Russians believe that by annexing Crimea, Russia has violated its international obligations. 71% percent believe it has not. Compared to 2019, the changes are within the statistical margin of error.
Do you agree that Russia, by annexing Crimea, has violated its international obligations and agreements?
| Nov.14 | Nov.15 | Mar.16 | Mar.17 | Mar.18 | Mar.19 | Mar.21 | |
| Definitely yes | 4 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 5 |
| Rather yes | 6 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 11 |
| Rather not | 29 | 33 | 29 | 34 | 32 | 28 | 27 |
| Definitely not | 49 | 47 | 52 | 44 | 42 | 43 | 44 |
| It is difficult to say | 12 | 9 | 10 | 8 | 12 | 12 | 12 |
This survey was conducted March 25 – 31 2021, among a representative sample of all Russian urban and rural residents. The sample was comprised of 1623 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.