The majority of respondents are satisfied with the results of the elections, expect changes for the better in this regard and believe that the elections were held fairly; these figures are higher compared to the results of polls after the previous elections. The opinion about the elections strongly depends on the attitude of respondents to the government: positive assessments prevail among those who support the president, and negative ones among oppositional citizens. 75% of the respondents took part in the voting, of which the majority voted for the incumbent president. Among Vladimir Putin’s supporters, two—thirds decided on the choice long before the voting day, among supporters of other candidates, more than half were determined during the campaign. Most of the respondents voted on Friday, the absolute majority at the polling station. The main motives for voting were a “sense of duty”, a desire to support their candidate and the habit of going to the polls, the main motives for non—participation were employment and disbelief that participation could change something. According to the sociological services, about a third of the respondents followed the ratings of candidates.

Campaign ratings

The majority of Russians say they are satisfied with the results of the last elections (only 86%, including 59% “completely satisfied” and another 27% “rather satisfied”). This is 12 percentage points more than during the 2004 and 2018 election campaigns. The least satisfied with the presidential elections was in 2012 — 62%.

Three quarters of respondents (76%) expect changes for the better from the last elections (66% in 2018), while 21% of Russians do not expect such changes.

At the same time, the picture is the opposite among opposition—minded citizens – 86% do not expect changes for the better after the elections.

The majority of respondents believe that the Russian presidential elections were held fairly (78%). This is 9% more than in 2018 (69%). After the 2012 elections, there were even fewer of them — 60%. At the same time, 87% of those who approve of the president’s activities are confident in the integrity of the elections, only 16% of those who disapprove.

The majority of respondents (94%) note that they have not faced any pressure, coercion to participate in elections, or vote for a certain candidate. Exactly the same answers were recorded after the last Duma elections in September 2021.

Voting experience

75% of respondents took part in the voting in the Russian presidential election on March 15-17. Older people voted significantly more often than representatives of the younger generation (86% in the 55-year-old and older category, while only 60% among respondents aged 18-24). 79% of those who approve of Vladimir Putin’s activities as president voted, and 54% of those who are opposed to him voted in the group.

Those who voted in the presidential election most often said that they did it out of a sense of duty (59% in the group), because they wanted to support their candidate (25% in the group) or because they always go to the polls (25% in the group).

Those who did not vote in the elections replied that they did not go to the polls because of employment or health reasons (36% in the group) or because they believe that their participation would not change anything (24% in the group), another 13% said that they “never go to the polls.”

Among those who voted on Friday, more than half voted before noon. On Saturday and Sunday, people voted more often in the afternoon.

Electoral preferences

Among the respondents who took part in the elections, 80% replied that they voted for Vladimir Putin, 5% for Nikolai Kharitonov and 3% each for Vladislav Davankov and Leonid Slutsky. Another 9% did not answer this question (this group was dominated by people who, according to another question in the questionnaire, approve of Vladimir Putin’s activities as president).

People who supported different candidates answered an open question about the motives of their support in different ways:

• Vladimir Putin’s supporters said that “there was no other choice”, “there is no one else” or that they “trust him”, that he is “our president” and “they do not change horses at the ferry.”
• supporters of Nikolai Kharitonov noted their commitment to the Communist Party, said that “they always vote for them”, “they are used to communists”, “I like their program”, noted various social aspects that the candidate raised during his campaign
• supporters of Vladislav Davankov explained their choice by saying that he was “the youngest”, “a new face”, “an adequate oppositionist” and “the only anti-war candidate”
• Leonid Slutsky’s supporters voted for him because “they always vote for the LDPR,” “because the LDPR can be respected,” “in memory of Zhirinovsky,” and “so that Putin does not relax.”

Two thirds of Vladimir Putin’s supporters decided on their choice long before the start of the election campaign, but even in this group there were those who made the decision on election day (6%) or at the time of voting (2%).

Among the supporters of other candidates, 40% decided long before the elections (obviously, these are long—time supporters of the relevant political parties), and almost two thirds of them were determined during the election campaign (including on election day — 14%, 1% – directly at the polling station).

Among those who voted for Vladimir Putin, almost all (92%) believed that the majority of voters voted the same way they did. Among those who supported other candidates, the majority (almost half, 49%) replied that “only a small part of the voters” voted the same way as themselves; but here, 17% considered that they voted the same way as the majority of voters.

About a third of the respondents (31%) followed the ratings of candidates according to sociological services during the election campaign. Polls recorded about the same amount after the Duma elections in 2021, when 29% of Russians followed the ratings of the parties.

The older age group (55 years and older) were more often interested in the ratings of candidates during the campaign – 39% noted that they followed the ratings, whereas among young people (18-24 years old and 25-39 years old) only one in four (24% and 25%, respectively) was interested in the ratings of candidates.

In general, the presidential elections became one of the main events of March. However, public attention was quickly captured by the terrorist attack at Crocus City Hall (for the public reaction to this event, see), which happened just a few days after the elections. Therefore, at the end of March, 56% mentioned the terrorist attack among the most important events of recent weeks, and 45% mentioned the elections.