54% of Russians Are Against "Putin for Life" - opinion poll on mass emotions in Russia

The results of the Open Mind Foundation (OMF) survey show that the emotional state of Russian citizens is fragile, with unpredicted consequences.

Today, Vladimir Putin doesn’t elicit hope in the masses as he did six years ago after the annexation of Crimea: only 45.2% of Russians live with hope for tomorrow, the opinion poll showed.

Fifty-four per cent of Russian citizens over 18 do not want to see Vladimir Putin stay president for another 16 years. Only a third of them support the president’s confrontational policy towards the Ukraine. These were the only two direct questions asked in the poll, which started on 16 June and finished on 25 June, the opening day of the all-Russia plebiscite on constitutional amendments that could allow President Vladimir Putin stay in power until 2036.

Comparison of the emotional state of Russians and Ukrainians

The emotional state of Russians and Ukrainians	Russia 16th-25th June 1600 respondents	Ukraine 22nd-26th June 600 respondents
Among the emotions you feel, which one prevails today?	% of all respondents	% of all respondents
Hope for tomorrow	45,2%	49,5
Fear of tomorrow	27,3%	27,3
Humiliation caused by the conditions you live in	27,5%	23,2

At first glance, when comparing the emotional state of Russians and Ukrainians, there is little emotional difference between the two neighbouring countries, despite them being in an undeclared war with each other.

At the beginning of 2020 (February-March), on average 70% of Ukrainians lived with hope for the coming day. Their confidence in the future dropped suddenly with the onset of the Coronavirus pandemic and the subsequent quarantine in the country. Nonetheless, Ukraine’s citizens are still more hopeful for the future than Russians.

The emotional state of women in both countries was almost identical at the end of June. However, Russian men are in a much more negative state than Ukrainian men. Their levels of hope are ten points lower than that of their neighbours to the west. Russian men were much more likely to say they felt humiliated by the conditions they live in.

According to the results of our survey, men were more likely than women to disapprove of Vladimir Putin’s policy towards the Ukraine. Sixty-four per cent of men do not want Putin to remain in power, which is a third more than among women. China remembers its Century of Humiliation all too well. What will come of the humiliation Russian men are experiencing today?

The OMF studies suggest that in order to have a stable society three out of four citizens (75%) must live with hope for tomorrow.

The Open Mind Foundation studies the impact of mass emotions on the political and social activity of citizens in different countries. The researchers monitor the level of three basic mass emotions: hope for tomorrow, fear of tomorrow and humiliation caused by the conditions the people live in.

Method and sample

The sample consisted of 1600 respondents, all over 18 years of age.

The survey was done over the phone by dialling random numbers. Mobile phones and landlines were equally represented. The survey was representative of the country’s demographics based on gender, age, region, type of dwelling and town or village. The margin of error was less than 3%. The OMF hired the Independent Research Agency, a private company, to conduct the interviews, and specialists of Sergey Belanovsky’s independent research group to assist in data analysis. The Russian sociologist Sergey Belanovsky predicted the uprising in Moscow in 2012.

Details and data of the research:

https://omf.fund/research/in-reality-54-of-russians-are-against-putin-for-life/

About the author of the research:

Savik Shuster - the president of the Open Mind Foundation, war reporter, researcher, writer, the author of the most popular political talk show in the Ukraine and Russia with unique sociological format.

Contacts:

Ekaterina Vasina, executive producer of the research.

Mob.tel. +38 098 8108518, email: vasina@omf.fund