Opinion polls show that the fight against corruption is making much headway.

MOSCOW, June 1, 2018. Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VCIOM) presents the data of a monitoring devoted to the corruption levels in the Russian society.   

The ‘Fight Against Corruption’ Index* became positive and gained 29 points over two years: from -12 p. in 2016 to 17 p. in 2018. More and more Russians notice anti-corruption measures. Fifty-five percent of respondents report positive results; just 13% point to deterioration.

The most corrupt areas include health services (23%), Road Traffic Safety Inspectorate and police (16%, each), housing services (16%), and justice system and prosecution service (14%). A quarter of Russians (24%) are confident that the whole society is mired in bribery. On the whole, there has been decline in corruption levels in all these spheres over the recent two years. As before, political parties, army and mass media are at the bottom of the rating.

Forty-two percent of Russians perceive corruption-related arrests of public officials as proof of anti-corruption measures over the recent years (49% among the residents of rural area; 48% among those aged 60 and over vs. 36% of residents of St Petersburg and Moscow; 37% of persons aged 18-24). Forty-seven percent of respondents say that such arrests are purely demonstrative actions, settling of scores, and conflicts between competing clans.

*Fight Against Corruption Index shows how successful the government anti-corruption measures are, according to Russians. The Index is based on the question “The country’s leadership keeps talking about anti-corruption efforts. Have you noticed any results of these efforts over the recent year, or not?” The Index is measured in points, calculated as the sum of positive and negative answers and can vary between -100 and 100. The higher the Index, the more noticeable the anti-corruption measures.

The VCIOM-Sputnik survey was conducted on May 20-21, 2018, and involved 2,000 Russians aged 18 and over. The survey was telephone-based and was carried out using stratified dual-frame random sample based on a complete list of landline and mobile phone numbers operating in Russia.  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 2.2%. In addition to sampling error, minor changes in question wording and different circumstances arising during the fieldwork can introduce bias into the survey.

The 2005-2016 results are based on household surveys; the 2017 VCIOM-Sputnik survey involved 600 respondents (per day). 

* Until 2013 this answer option was provided

** Until 2016 this answer option was provided

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!