This survey was carried out December 12–18, 2019 with a representative sample of all Russian urban and rural residents. The sample comprised 1608 people age 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%
IN YOUR OPINION, WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING GLOBAL THREATS FACING HUMANITY IN THE 21st CENTURY ARE THE MOST DANGEROUS? (respondents were presented with a card with a list of answers from which they could choose more than one answer and/or write in their own; answers ranked in descending order according to December 2019)
| Dec. 19 | |
| Environmental pollution | 48 |
| International terrorism | 42 |
| Armed conflicts, wars | 37 |
| Climate change, global warming | 34 |
| Human-caused catastrophes and accidents | 31 |
| Nuclear weapons proliferation and the threat of their use | 25 |
| Global economic crisis | 25 |
| Global epidemics, novel diseases | 24 |
| Hacker attacks, cybercrime, data leaks | 18 |
| Shortages of food and potable water | 16 |
| Overpopulation and large-scale migration | 15 |
| Reduction in energy resources | 12 |
| Widening rift between developed and developing countries | 9 |
| Other (“meteor,” “alcoholism and drug addition,” “low wages unemployment,” etc.) | 1 |
| It is difficult to say | 3 |
IN YOUR OPINION, WHICH ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEM LISTED ON THIS CARD IS CURRENTLY THE MOST SERIOUS FOR RUSSIA AS A WHOLE? (respondents were given an answer card from which they could choose only one answer; answers ranked in descending order according to December 2019)
| Dec. 10 | Dec. 19 | |
| Air pollution | 29 | 26 |
| Household waste management | 8 | 17 |
| Nuclear waste | 8 | 11 |
| Natural resource exhaustion | 7 | 9 |
| Genetically modified food products | 9 | 9 |
| Water pollution | 15 | 9 |
| Climate change | 8 | 7 |
| Chemicals and pesticides | 7 | 7 |
| Water shortages | 4 | 2 |
| None of the above | 1 | 2 |
| It is difficult to say | 4 | 3 |
DO ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS HAVE A DIRECT EFFECT ON YOU AND YOUR FAMILY? IF YES, WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING PROBLEMS MOST AFFECTS YOU AND YOUR FAMILY? (respondents were given an answer card from which they could choose only one answer; answers ranked in descending order according to December 2019)
| Dec. 10 | Dec. 19 | |
| Air pollution | 16 | 25 |
| Water pollution | 19 | 15 |
| Genetically modified food products | 12 | 12 |
| Household waste management | 10 | 11 |
| Climate change | 10 | 7 |
| Chemicals and pesticides | 7 | 6 |
| Natural resource exhaustion | 7 | 4 |
| Nuclear waste | 6 | 3 |
| Water shortages | 5 | 2 |
| None of the above | 3 | 14 |
| It is difficult to say | 5 | 2 |
Answer distribution in relation to the type of residential area
(ranked in descending order according to the “Moscow” column)
| … MOST AFFECTS YOU AND YOUR FAMILY? | Moscow | Over 500,000 | From 100,000 to 500,000 | Cities pop. less than 100,000 | Village |
| Air pollution | 35 | 30 | 24 | 25 | 19 |
| Household waste management | 16 | 9 | 12 | 9 | 13 |
| Genetically modified food products | 14 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 12 |
| Chemicals and pesticides | 8 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 6 |
| Water pollution | 6 | 17 | 18 | 14 | 14 |
| Climate change | 3 | 7 | 5 | 9 | 7 |
| Natural resource exhaustion | 3 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 3 |
| Nuclear waste | 1 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 3 |
| Water shortages | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 |
| None of the above | 13 | 10 | 19 | 13 | 17 |
| It is difficult to say | <1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 4 |
TODAY SCIENTISTS ARGUE ABOUT THE CAUSES OF GLOBAL WARMING. SOME CONNECT IT TO HUMAN ACTIVITIES; OTHERS TALK OF NATURAL CAUSES FOR THIS PROCESS. IN YOUR OPINION, WHAT HAS THE GREATEST EFFECT ON THE GENERAL TEMPERATURE INCREASE OF OUR PLANET’S ENVIRONMENT? (one answer)
| Dec. 19 | |
| It is result of pollution caused by human activities | 67 |
| It is a result of natural processes that are not related to human activities | 25 |
| It is difficult to say | 7 |
Translated by Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey (formerly Monterey Institute of International Studies).
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