According to the VCIOM-Sputnik data, the term “blogger” has become part of our everyday life; however today bloggers are perceived not as enthusiast writers but basically as persons who earn money online.

MOSCOW, June 14, 2017. The Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VCIOM) presents the results of a survey devoted to blogs and blogging.

The term “blogger” is becoming more common: over four years the number of those who are not aware of who the bloggers are has decreased from 26% to 6%; at the same time, the number of those who are aware has increased from 41% to 69%.

Remarkably, today Russians do not read blogs more frequently than they did before: both in 2013 and in 2017 the blog audience makes up 33%.  Those who browse through blogs are mainly young people aged 18-24 (56%) and men (38%), rather than older persons (from 28% to 33%) and women (29%).

Dmitry Medvedev remains to be the most famous blogger in Russia. At the same time, the Medialogia Company analysis suggests that the most cited bloggers in the Russian media are Donald Trump (the media reported that he refuted the claims that Russian intelligence agencies had compromising material on the American president), Alexey Navalny and Maria Zakharova.

The desire to write something which was earlier treated as the main reason behind blogging (43%) is secondary today (36%), at the same time more Russians consider “self-promotion” as the main reason to start a blog (42% in 2017 vs 35% in 2013). For the time being, the blogger’s image is synonymous with money: 47% of respondents do believe that blogging is needed to earn money (an increase from 14% in 2013).

As to the trust levels, the traditional media take the lead; 61% trust conventional media, but over four years this share has decreased (from 67%). As to age groups, it is obvious that the younger the respondents are, the more they trust the information posted on blogging sites, and the less they trust the traditional media. 

The blogger’s role is assessed ambiguously by people: 29% believe that bloggers do not have any influence on the public life by posting their opinions on social and political issues; 37% say that they can equally do harm and good. Eight percent are mainly positive about blogging, whereas this percentage is higher among respondents aged 18-24 and those who read blogs.

The VCIOM-Sputnik Russian nationwide survey was conducted on June 8-9, 2017, using stratified dual-frame random sample based on a complete list of landline and mobile phone numbers operating in Russia, and involved 1,200 respondents. Russians aged 18 and over took part in the survey. The data were weighted according to selection probability and social and demographic characteristics. The margin of error at a 95% confidence level does not exceed 3.5%. In addition to sampling error, minor changes in question wording and different circumstances arising during the fieldwork can introduce bias into the survey.

Results for the 2013 study are based on household survey.

The Russian media monitoring and analysis is carried out by the Medialogia Company using the Medialogia database of 41,200 sources such as television, radio, newspaper, magazines information agencies and online media. The period of study was January – May, 2017. The Citation Index (CI) is a media indicator that describes the number of blog citations in the media publications and the importance of the sources that cited posts from the blogs.  

Note: Using materials from the site www.wciom.ru or wciom.com, as well as distributed by VCIOM, the reference to the source (or hyperlink for the electronic media) is obligatory! The use of the Medialogia system content, fully or partially, must be accompanied by the reference to the Medialogia Company.