Support The Moscow Times!

Russians’ Confidence in Government Down, Self-Reliance Up During Virus Outbreak – Poll

The spread of Covid-19 in Russia has caused significant damage to an economy already hurt by a devalued currency and an oil-price crash. Yuri Kadobnov / AFP

Russians’ trust in state institutions has fallen during the coronavirus outbreak while their sense of self-reliance is up, according to poll results cited by the RBC news website Tuesday.

The results were published nine weeks into a nationwide lockdown to slow the spread of Covid-19 that has caused significant damage to an economy already hurt by a devalued currency and an oil-price crash. Small and medium businesses have criticized state economic support measures as modest and authorities have resisted public pressure to further loosen the purse strings.

Some 61% of Russians surveyed by the Moscow-based Online Market Intelligence (OMI) researcher and the Platforma social forecasting center said they felt less confident that the government would come to their aid during the pandemic, RBC reported. Only 10% said they had more confidence that it would help them.

The survey’s respondents also reported lower levels of confidence in state media (54%), Russian healthcare (43%), the stability of their employers (42%) and people in general (24%). Public organizations were the only institutions to see an increase in trust from the public (22%).

Meanwhile, 28% of Russians said they felt stronger confidence in themselves, RBC said, a sign of increasing self-reliance. 

OMI and Platforma surveyed 1,000 respondents over the age of 18 in cities with populations over 100,000. RBC did not indicate when the respondents were polled.

Meanwhile, President Vladimir Putin’s disapproval rating inched upward from 33% in April to 34% in May in a survey conducted by the independent Levada Center pollster, which published its results Tuesday. His approval rating held steady at 59%.

Sign up for our free weekly newsletter

Our weekly newsletter contains a hand-picked selection of news, features, analysiss and more from The Moscow Times. You will receive it in your mailbox every Friday. Never miss the latest news from Russia. Preview
Subscribers agree to the Privacy Policy

A Message from The Moscow Times:

Dear readers,

We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."

These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.

We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.

Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.

By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.

Once
Monthly
Annual
Continue
paiment methods
Not ready to support today?
Remind me later.

Read more