In August 2024, there was a slight decrease in positive assessments of the situation in the country. The proportion of respondents experiencing tension, irritation, and fear has increased, but positive moods still prevail. The approval rates for the activities of the president and governors remained virtually unchanged, while the approval rates for the activities of the Government, the Prime Minister and Parliament continued to decline smoothly. The level of support for United Russia has also decreased, and the share of supporters of other parliamentary parties has hardly changed.
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June 2024 ratings: assessments of the state of affairs in the country, approval of institutions, trust in politicians
In June, the assessments of the activities of the main state institutions did not change, the majority approve. The share of positive assessments of the situation in the country is also growing. The most positive sentiments are demonstrated by representatives of the oldest age group, more affluent citizens, Muscovites and TV viewers. The level of trust in V. Putin, M. Mishustin, A. Belousov is growing, Sergey Lavrov and Sergei Shoigu are decreasing.
Mass perceptions of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in Russia and the United States
A comparative study by the Levada Center and the Chicago Council on Global Affairs shows that about half of both Russians and Americans surveyed do not express sympathy for either side of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, however, support for the Israeli side is higher in the United States, and for the Palestinian side in Russia. Russians consider the actions of Hamas unjustified or find it difficult to formulate their attitude, while most Americans consider the actions of Hamas unjustified. At the same time, the majority of Russians consider Israel’s actions unjustified, whereas there is no unequivocal opinion on this issue in American society. About half of the respondents in both countries support the creation of an independent Palestinian state, although in the United States there is also a high proportion of respondents who oppose it. Respondents in Russia place the main responsibility for what is happening in the Middle East on the United States and to a lesser extent on Israel.
The conflict with Ukraine and the attack on the Kursk region: key indicators in August 2024
The general attention to the events of the Special Military Operation has not changed significantly since last month; about half of Russians are more or less closely following this. At the same time, almost all respondents are aware of the events in the Kursk region. In this regard, Russians are most concerned about the deaths of civilians and the very fact of an attack on Russian territory. Most of the respondents do not expect a second wave of mobilisation and do not see the need for it, but concern about this issue has grown. Support for the actions of the Russian Armed Forces still remains high. Over the past month, the number of supporters of peace talks has decreased, while supporters of continued military operations have grown. Over the past year, four out of ten respondents have collected things or money for the participants of the Special Military Operation, and a fifth of the respondents participated in providing assistance to affected residents of border regions.
Public sentiment and assessments of the state of affairs in the country: May 2024
In the last 25 years, Russians have most often said that their mood in recent days has been normal, even. Tension and irritation in society is gradually decreasing and is currently at the lowest level for the entire observation period, at the same time, in May 2024, the maximum indicators of the excellent mood of Russians (16%) were recorded. The majority of Russians believe that things in the country are going in the right direction, bearing in mind the “correctly pursued state policy (both foreign and domestic)”, “social development”, “struggle for peace”. Almost one in five respondents says that the country is moving along the wrong path, referring to “rising prices, small pensions, inflation,” “economic decline,” “irremovability of power, corruption.”
Mass ideas about the allies and opponents of the USSR in World War II and which country made the greatest contribution to the victory over Germany
Russians consider the USA, Great Britain and France to be the main allies of the USSR in the Great Patriotic War, while Germany, Japan and Italy are called the main opponents. The absolute majority of Russians — unlike the population of Western countries — believe that it was the Soviet Union that made the greatest contribution to the victory over Germany. Three quarters of the respondents say that the Soviet Union could have won the war without the help of the Allies
The conflict with Ukraine: key indicators, responsibility, reasons for concern, the threat of a clash with NATO and the use of nuclear weapons
About half of the respondents continue to follow the Ukrainian events quite closely. Support for the actions of the Russian armed forces also remains at a high level. For the first time in six months, the number of supporters of negotiations has increased significantly (up to 58%). Most of the respondents believe that Russia is more interested in negotiations. Two thirds of respondents still hold the United States and NATO responsible for what is happening, and their conviction has grown over the year. Half of the respondents allows the conflict to escalate into a direct clash between Russia and NATO. Russia’s military actions in Ukraine mainly cause Russians to be proud of Russia (48%) or alarm, fear and horror (33%), these feelings have prevailed among respondents since the beginning of the conflict. The majority of respondents are concerned about the shelling of Russian territories by Ukraine, the threat of the use of nuclear weapons and the supply of Western military equipment. One in three admits that Russia’s use of nuclear weapons during the conflict may be justified.
Mass perceptions about Western sanctions
Concerns about Western sanctions against Russia are gradually weakening. The blocking of Russian gold and foreign exchange reserves is more of a concern. The number of people who are confident that sanctions affect the majority of the population is gradually decreasing. The prevailing opinion is that the sanctions have not created serious problems for the respondents and their families. Those who still talk about problems note the departure of brands, rising prices, restrictions on travel abroad, blocking of payment systems, and the disappearance of a number of medicines. At the same time, almost two thirds of respondents believe that sanctions will strengthen our country and become an incentive for its development. The majority of respondents (73%) believe that Russia should “continue its policy despite the sanctions.”
Conflict with Ukraine: Assessments for May 2024
Mass assessments of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict are stable. More than half of the respondents are monitoring the situation quite closely. Most support the actions of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. Half of the respondents believe that it is necessary to move on to peace negotiations (43% are in favor of continuing military operations, their share has been growing in recent months). However, the majority is not ready to make concessions regarding Ukraine and this share is growing. Russians consider the exchange of prisoners of war and a ceasefire to be acceptable conditions for signing a peace agreement, while the return of new regions and Ukraine’s accession to NATO are completely unacceptable. If there was an opportunity to go back in time and cancel or support the start of Special Military Operation, slightly more than a third of the respondents would reverse this decision (their share has decreased slightly in recent months).
The level of xenophobia and ethnic tension, the attitude towards immigrants
Indicators of social distance in relation to people of different nationalities change under the influence of current events in the country and the world. The highest level of hostility is recorded in relation to Roma people, immigrants from the Central Asian republics of the former USSR and, over the past two years, in relation to Ukrainians. Over the course of 22 years of monitoring, the number of people in Russia who do not support restrictions on the residence of representatives of any nations has gradually increased. However, the prevailing opinion is that one should “try to limit the influx of visitors” and “expel illegal migrants from the country.” The majority of respondents do not feel ethnic tension and believe that mass clashes on national grounds are unlikely today.