Poll finds 45% of Russians Dissatisfied With The Country’s Situation

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – January 19, 2017)

A recent poll by the Public Opinion Foundation (FOM) found that 45 percent of Russians are dissatisfied with the general situation in the country, the RBC newspaper reports.

Nearly half the population expressed dissatisfaction with the authorities in the realm of healthcare, the economy and the social safety net.

The results of the study, which asked Russians for their opinions about the future of their country in the next twenty years, was published on the pollster’s site on Wednesday.

It was conducted Nov. 23-28 last year, with 1,600 respondents aged 18 to 49.

The survey found 47 percent satisfied with the general situation in the country and 45 dissatisfied. When asked about the general situation in their town or village, 49 percent were satisfied and 44 percent dissatisfied.

In 20 years, 52 percent of respondents said they expect improvements in medical services, 49 percent expect improvement in the economy and in education- 47 percent.

Russians were less optimistic about the future of social security. Forty percent said they believe that the social safety net will not have improved in 20 years, while only 31 percent expect to see improvement.

The sociologists who carried out the poll also noted the low level of planning for the future among respondents. Only 6 percent said they plan into the future more than ten years ahead. Twenty percent plan three to five years ahead, 48 percent plan only for the next year and 24 percent say that don’t make plans at all.

According to Nikolai Mironov, an analyst for RBC, dissatisfaction in the country is growing.

“Respondents are increasingly refusing to answer questions; the number of refusals for polling is growing,” he said.

“The harder the life, the more respondents are afraid to say anything,” he added.

According to him, the survey says that many people can’t plan for the future, and over a third rely on external factors. In his opinion this means they are not independent and thus they will seek out “someone powerful,” hoping that he’ll establish order.