This survey took place between October 18–24, 2018 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 136 localities of 52 of the country’s regions. 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%

Family remains the only sphere of Russians’ lives for which nearly every participant in this survey acknowledges their personal responsibility (92% is the combined total for the positions “fully responsible” and “to a considerable degree responsible”). The second and third spheres Russians feel most personally responsible for and able to influence are work and their home/courtyard of their building (49%, 40%, 53% and 42% respectively). However, the proportion of Russians who feel responsible for and influential over these spheres was only half of the proportion of those who feel responsible for their family.

Respondents noted that the situation in their city/district and country was most removed from their personal responsibility and influence. The proportion of respondents who do not feel a sense of responsibility or influence in these spheres was significantly greater than the proportion of respondents who felt they were included in events in their city or country (these figures, presented as lines on the graph with averages, are at the top of the graph).

However, over the last year, the sense of personal responsibility among Russians on the city (local) and national levels significantly rose. This, in our opinion, was caused by the country’s social and political situation, which has drawn Russians’ attention away from foreign political events in recent years (the events in Ukraine, Syria, sanctions) and towards domestic events (pension reform, prices, etc.). This is partially reflected in both the reduced interest of Russians in international affairs, judging by the results of the survey on the most memorable events of the past few months, and the rising concern over problems such as poverty and income, which we noted in August of this year and stimulated the growth of declared “civic awareness.”

For the sake of ease of analysis, averages for “sense of responsibility” and “sense of influence” for different spheres of life are presented in the tables and the graph below. These values for 2018 are for the most part identical among respondents from different age groups, which allows for the conclusion that the “hierarchy” of spheres of responsibility is identical between younger and older people (family, work, home, city, country). Furthermore, there is no significant difference in the degrees to which young and old people feel responsible for and able to influence different spheres of life, with the exception of “what is happening at work,” where older respondents feel more responsible for and influential over their work than younger respondents aged 18 to 24.

The questions in this survey asked respondents to agree or disagree on a scale of “1” (“Fully”) to “4” (“Not at all responsible/Not at all influential”). We calculated averages based on these ratings.

In the question concerning a sense of responsibility: from 1: 100% (“Fully”) to 4: 100% (“Not at all responsible”). An indicator lower than 2.50 suggests a high sense of responsibility. Conversely, an indicator higher than 2.50 is evidence of respondents having limited feelings of responsibility.

HOW RESPONSIBLE DO YOU FEEL FOR WHAT HAPPENS IN YOUR FAMILY?

HOW RESPONSIBLE DO YOU FEEL FOR WHAT HAPPENS AT WORK?

HOW RESPONSIBLE DO YOU FEEL FOR WHAT HAPPENS IN AND AROUND (IN THE YARD/COURTYARD OF) THE BUILDING WHERE YOU LIVE?

HOW RESPONSIBLE DO YOU FEEL FOR WHAT HAPPENS IN YOUR CITY/NEIGHBORHOOD?

HOW RESPONSIBLE DO YOU FEEL FOR WHAT HAPPENS IN THIS COUNTRY?

In the question concerning an ability to influence something: from 1: 100% (“Fully”) to 4: 100% (“Not at all influential”). An indicator lower than 2.50 suggests a high sense of influence. Conversely, an indicator higher than 2.50 demonstrates that one feels a limited degree of influence over something.

TO WHAT DEGREE DO YOU FEEL YOU CAN INFLUENCE WHAT HAPPENS IN YOUR FAMILY?

DO WHAT DEGREE DO YOU FEEL YOU CAN INFLUENCE WHAT HAPPENS AT WORK?

TO WHAT DEGREE DO YOU FEEL YOU CAN INFLUENCE WHAT HAPPENS IN OR AROUND (IN THE YARD/COURTYARD OF) THE BUILDING WHERE YOU LIVE?

TO WHAT DEGREE DO YOU FEEL YOU CAN INFLUENCE WHAT HAPPENS IN YOUR CITY/NEIGHBORHOOD?

TO WHAT DEGREE DO YOU FEEL YOU CAN INFLUENCE WHAT HAPPENS IN THIS COUNTRY?

The “hierarchy” for a sense of responsibility and influence in each sphere
(ranked according to the total sample: spheres with a high degree of responsibility and influence are at the top, those with a low degree are at the bottom)

Translated by Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey (formerly Monterey Institute of International Studies).

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