This survey took place between November 22–28, 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 a percentage of the number of participants.
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%
WHAT IS THE FIRST THING THAT COMES TO MIND WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT YOUR PEOPLE? (respondents were presented with a card from which they could choose more than one answer or write in their own; ranked in descending order according to November 2018)*
| Aug. 94 |
Mar. 99 |
Aug. 03 |
Aug. 08 |
Oct. 12 |
Jun. 15 |
Aug. 16 |
Nov. 17 |
Nov. 18 |
|
| Our past, our history | 37 | 48 | 48 | 43 | 41 | 37 | 46 | 46 | 53 |
| Our land, the territory on which we live | 25 | 26 | 32 | 34 | 34 | 44 | 42 | 38 | 35 |
| The place where I was born and grew up | 41 | 35 | 43 | 39 | 43 | 41 | 40 | 39 | 33 |
| Our natural surroundings | 18 | 18 | 23 | 17 | 19 | 30 | 24 | 28 | 25 |
| The state where I live | 17 | 19 | 22 | 32 | 28 | 25 | 26 | 17 | 22 |
| My native language | 19 | 17 | 19 | 23 | 25 | 25 | 21 | 21 | 19 |
| Our military power | 5 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 15 | 18 | 21 | 17 |
| Great people from my ethnic group | 10 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 20 | 21 | 23 | 12 |
| My people’s spiritual qualities | 16 | 19 | 15 | 14 | 9 | 16 | 16 | 18 | 12 |
| Our songs, holidays and customs | 17 | 19 | 16 | 14 | 13 | 17 | 12 | 14 | 9 |
| Our religion, the faith of my forefathers | 8 | 7 | 8 | 12 | 10 | 15 | 14 | 11 | 9 |
| Our ability to work hard and keep things in order | 6 | 10 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 8 | 11 | 9 | 8 |
| The graves of and monuments to our people | 9 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 10 | 9 | 12 | 7 |
| The flag, national coat of arms, and national anthem | 2 | 3 | 4 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 5 |
| Other | 1 | <1 | 1 | 1 | <1 | <1 | <1 | 1 | 2 |
| It is difficult to say | 8 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2 |
* From 1994 to 1999 the survey form had respondents fill in answers themselves
FOR EACH OF THE FOLLOWING PAIRS OF OPINIONS, WHICH OF THE TWO DO YOU AGREE WITH THE MOST? (one answer)
| Apr. 92 |
Mar. 99 |
Aug. 08 | Oct. 16 |
Nov. 17 |
Nov. 18 | |
| Russia should maintain its role as a superpower | 72 | 78 | 86 | 76 | 82 | 88 |
| Russia does not need to claim to be a superpower | 14 | 9 | 6 | 17 | 13 | 10 |
| It is difficult to say | 13 | 13 | 8 | 7 | 5 | 2 |
FOR EACH OF THE FOLLOWING PAIRS OF OPINIONS, WHICH OF THE TWO DO YOU AGREE WITH THE MOST? (one answer)
| Apr. 92 |
Mar. 99 |
Oct. 16 |
Nov. 17 |
Nov. 18 |
|
| Russians are a great people who have a special place in world history | 13 | 57 | 57 | 64 | 62 |
| Russians are no different than other peoples | 80 | 36 | 34 | 32 | 35 |
| It is difficult to say | 7 | 7 | 9 | 4 | 3 |
IN YOUR OPINION, IS RUSSIAN A SUPERPOWER IN THE PRESENT DAY? (one answer)
| Mar. 99 |
Oct. 01 |
Nov. 05 |
Nov. 06 |
Nov. 07 |
Nov. 10 |
Nov. 11 |
Nov. 15 |
Nov. 16 |
Nov. 17 |
Nov. 18 | |
| Definitely | 12 | 11 | 7 | 12 | 17 | 16 | 11 | 65 | 21 | 28 | 35 |
| Probably | 19 | 29 | 23 | 31 | 36 | 39 | 36 | 43 | 44 | 40 | |
| Probably not | 34 | 35 | 44 | 36 | 31 | 32 | 35 | 25 | 23 | 19 | 17 |
| Definitely not | 31 | 22 | 23 | 16 | 11 | 9 | 11 | 4 | 3 | 6 | |
| It is difficult to say | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 9 | 6 | 2 |
WHICH EVENTS AND PHENOMENONS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY MAKE YOU PROUD? (respondents were presented with a card from which they could choose more than one answer or write in their own; ranked in descending order according to December 2018)
| Apr. 99 |
Jul. 03 |
Aug. 08 |
Sep. 12 |
Mar. 14 |
Jun. 15 |
Jan. 17 |
Dec. 18 | |
| Victory in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-45 | 86 | 87 | 89 | 82 | 82 | 85 | 83 | 87 |
| The country’s leading role in space exploration | 60 | 59 | 61 | 45 | 46 | 42 | 41 | 50 |
| Returning Crimea to the Russian Federation | -* | – | – | – | – | – | 43 | 45 |
| The great Russian literary tradition | 46 | 48 | 49 | 35 | 39 | 37 | 36 | 40 |
| The achievements of Russian science | 52 | 51 | 46 | 35 | 34 | 30 | 32 | 37 |
| The glory of Russian weaponry | 35 | 35 | 37 | 31 | 26 | 25 | 26 | 36 |
| The moral qualities of Russian people: their simplicity, patience and steadfastness | 45 | 44 | 35 | 32 | 24 | 27 | 23 | 32 |
| The transformation of Russia during the Soviet era into a leading industrial power in the world | 42 | 32 | 37 | 32 | 35 | 36 | 35 | 32 |
| Renowned Russian adventurers and pioneers | 33 | 33 | 28 | 26 | 21 | 21 | 19 | 24 |
| The country’s stabilization under Putin and economic growth | – | – | 32 | 13 | 12 | 20 | 18 | 18 |
| The struggle against the Tartar-Mongol yoke, protecting Europe against invasion from the East | 22 | 25 | 21 | 17 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 16 |
| Progressive social system, classless society during the Soviet Union | 14 | 13 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 9 | 14 |
| The selfless devotion of Russian saints | 10 | 14 | 13 | 11 | 10 | 11 | 7 | 12 |
| The spirit of Russian freemen, love of freedom | 12 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 10 | 12 | 10 | 10 |
| Moral authority of the Russian intelligentsia | 12 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 7 | 8 |
| Perestroika, the beginning of market reforms | 2 | 8 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| Other | <1 | <1 | <1 | 1 | <1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| None of the above make me particularly proud | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| It is difficult to say | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 1 |
*This option was not included.
WHAT ARE YOU ASHAMED OF? WHAT CAUSES YOU SHAME OR UPSETS YOU WHEN YOU REFLECT ON RUSSIAN HISTORY IN THE 20TH CENTURY? (respondents were presented with a card from which they could choose more than one answer or write in their own; ranked in descending order according to December 2018)
| Apr. 99 |
Jul. 03 |
Aug. 08 |
Sep. 12 |
Jun. 15 |
Jan. 17 |
Dec. 18 |
|
| We are a great people and a rich country, but we permanently live in poverty and disorder | 79 | 78 | 69 | 56 | 56 | 54 | 61 |
| The collapse of the USSR | 48 | 41 | 38 | 32 | 28 | 33 | 45 |
| Rudeness, impertinence, and people’s lack of respect toward each other | 45 | 52 | 49 | 35 | 31 | 24 | 37 |
| Always lagging behind the West | 31 | 32 | 22 | 25 | 20 | 20 | 24 |
| That which Perestroika turned out to be | – | – | – | 16 | 17 | 18 | 24 |
| The purges and forced population transfer in 1920-1950 | 34 | 39 | 35 | 25 | 25 | 22 | 21 |
| Stagnation, inertness and laziness | 24 | 34 | 27 | 18 | 20 | 14 | 18 |
| The limited, incompetent and self-serving government | 28 | 20 | 20 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 16 |
| The persecution of the Church | 21 | 18 | 27 | 16 | 12 | 11 | 16 |
| The legacy of serfdom, the spirit of slavery, and people’s habit of forced labor | 17 | 23 | 19 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 13 |
| The desire to force our social system on other countries and peoples | 15 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 9 |
| Vladimir Putin’s rise to power | – | – | – | 5 | 1 | 3 | 9 |
| Ethnic arrogance | 7 | 5 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 7 |
| Russia’s military defeats | 16 | 16 | 11 | 8 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
| Other | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| None of the above make me particularly ashamed | 1 | 2 | 3 | 9 | 6 | 8 | 6 |
| It is difficult to say | 5 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 2 |
Translated by Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey (formerly Monterey Institute of International Studies).
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.