The majority of respondents believe that the coming year 2025 will be better than the previous year. Three respondents out of four look forward to the new year with hope – slightly more than last year, while this is the highest figure in 12 years. About two thirds of the respondents believe that next year will be stressful for the political and economic life of the country, but for them it will be rather calm. Similar estimates were observed last December. In general, young people, more affluent respondents, and those who are loyal to government policies have more positive expectations for the coming year. On the contrary, older respondents, less well-off respondents, as well as opposition-minded citizens demonstrate more negative views about the coming 2025.
Publications
Results of 2024: mass ratings, main events, heroes of the year, films and TV series
Among the most important events of the past year, the respondents named the attack by the Ukrainian Armed Forces on the Kursk region, the presidential elections in Russia, and the terrorist attack in Crocus City Hall. The majority of respondents rate the outgoing year as “average”. Moreover, the respondents rate the past year more positively for themselves than for Russia as a whole. According to more than half of respondents, the person of 2024 was V. Putin, also mentioned were S. Lavrov, D. Trump, A. Lukashenko, M. Mishustin, S. Jinping, A. Belousov and V. Orban. Nevsky was named the best TV series of 2024, and Cheburashka and Love of the Soviet Union were named the best feature films
Attitude towards the Russian opposition: the most prominent figures, rating and anti-rating of opposition politicians
Russians consider Gennady Zyuganov, Leonid Slutsky, Sergei Mironov and Mikhail Khodorkovsky* to be the most prominent opposition politicians. At the same time, opposition-minded citizens more often mention Gennady Zyuganov, Nikolai Bondarenko, Sergei Mironov, Ilya Yashin* and Vladimir Kara-Murza*. Representatives of the parliamentary opposition enjoy the greatest approval of Russians, while politicians such as Yulia Navalnaya**, Mikhail Khodorkovsky*, Grigory Yavlinsky, and Garry Kasparov* ** rank the worst. Among the opposition—minded citizens, such politicians as Gennady Zyuganov, Pavel Grudinin, Leonid Slutsky, Mikhail Khodorkovsky* and Yulia Navalnaya** enjoy the greatest confidence; Grigory Yavlinsky, Yulia Navalnaya**, Gennady Zyuganov and Mikhail Khodorkovsky* have the greatest anti-rating. Most of the respondents do not know anything about the opposition protests that took place on November 17 in Berlin and other cities. A neutral attitude towards the participants of these demonstrations prevails among the respondents.
Smoking in Russia: October 2024
The number of people who have never smoked has increased slightly over the past 20 years. The number of smokers (those who currently smoke) is also decreasing. Among young people, the proportion of non-smokers is higher than among representatives of other ages. Young women smoke the least. Those who have smokers among their family members are more likely to smoke. Most smokers smoke regular cigarettes. However, the number of consumers of tobacco heating systems, vapes and disposable electronic cigarettes is growing.
Ratings of November 2024: sentiments, opinions on the state of affairs in the country, approval of authorities, trust in politicians and parties, presidential electoral ratings
A calm, even mood prevails among the respondents, but in November the proportion of Russians experiencing negative emotions (tension, irritation, fear, longing) increased slightly. At the same time, the share of respondents who believe that things in the country are going in the right direction has slightly increased. After a decline in August-September, the approval level of the main institutions – the president, the State Duma, the government, the Prime Minister and the governors – continues to grow. The level of trust in V. Putin and S. Lavrov (according to the open question) is growing. Lavrov (according to the open-ended question) is growing, the level of trust in other politicians practically does not change. After a decline in August and September, United Russia’s electoral rating is recovering.
The conflict with Ukraine in November 2024: attention, support, attitude to negotiations, difficulties and successes of the Special Military Operation, the clash between Russia and NATO, the use of nuclear weapons
The general level of attention to the Ukrainian events has not changed, while the Russians called the launch of the Oreshnik rocket the main event of last month. The level of support for military operations remains high. The number of supporters of the idea of peace talks is slowly increasing after a decline in August. More than two thirds of the respondents believe that the special operation is progressing successfully. Compared to last year, the proportion of those who are confident that the difficulties associated with the Special Military Operation are “still ahead” has decreased. More than half of the respondents believe that the conflict in Ukraine could escalate into an armed confrontation with NATO. There is growing confidence among the respondents that the use of nuclear weapons in the current conflict can be justified
Attitudes towards homosexuality, the rights of LGBT people and “propaganda of homosexuality”: October 2024
The negative attitude towards LGBT people in Russia is growing: today more than half of the respondents voice a negative attitude, a little more than a quarter are rather neutral or friendly. The share of Russians who believe that gays and lesbians in Russia should enjoy the same rights as other citizens is decreasing (from 50% to 30% in twenty years). Almost two thirds of respondents fear that their children or grandchildren may become victims of “homosexual propaganda.” More than half of Russians would communicate less or stop communicating with friends altogether if they found out about their homosexuality. At the same time, a tenth of the respondents have gay or lesbian acquaintances, and this figure has doubled in ten years.
Ratings of October 2024: sentiments, opinions on the state of affairs in the country, approval of authorities, trust in politicians and parties, presidential electoral ratings
After a decrease in positive assessments of the country’s affairs and the work of the main state institutions at the end of the summer, the indicators increased. At the same time, the mood of the respondents improved. The top ten politicians who enjoy the trust of the respondents have not changed significantly. The rating of United Russia has increased slightly after a decline in previous months, and the rating is gradually recovering after a prolonged decline over the past year. The support of other parliamentary parties has hardly changed. If the presidential election were held next Sunday, the majority of respondents would vote for V. Putin.
The conflict with Ukraine: attention, support, attitude to peace negotiations and to contract military service in October 2024
Attention to the Ukrainian events has not changed in recent months: about half of the respondents are closely following the events. The level of support for the military actions remains consistently high. The number of supporters of peace talks continues to grow slowly after a decline in August. If respondents had the opportunity to go back to the past, equal shares of respondents would support or prevent the decision to launch the special military operation. If a family member of the respondent had signed a contract to participate in the special military operation, about 40% would have supported such a decision, but the same number would not have supported it. Those who would approve of such a decision motivated it by the need to protect the homeland and civic duty. And those who would not approve said that they were worried about their loved ones and were in favor of peace.
Ratings of August 2024: assessments of the state of affairs in the country, the mood of respondents, approval of authorities, trust in politicians and parties
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.