MOSCOW, 14 August 2023. Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VCIOM) presents the findings of a survey on the attitudes of the Russians towards those who come from other countries.

Work makes us better

Based on the MIA data, a total of 16,870, 094 foreign citizens and persons without citizenship were registered as migrants in 2022 in Russia (+26 p.p. compared to 2021). Almost every second Russian is confident that labor migration is a positive thing for the country (47%); this year the percentage exceeds multiple times those of the previous years (21% in 2006; 14% in 2008; 14% in 2013). Forty percent of the respondents oppose this opinion, which is twice as small compared to ten years ago (74% in 2013). Remarkably, urbanization rate does not affect much the opinions on labor migration. Both in large cities and rural area people share similar views on this issue (50% of metropolitan residents and 47% of rural area residents support labor migration).

Differences in answers to the question are found between “fathers and sons” and “the rich and the poor”. Young people tend to see more advantages in labor migration (61% of the 18-24-year-olds and 56% of those aged 25-34), whereas Russians aged 45—59 often point to negative things (51%). Respondents with good income are more likely to be loyal towards labor migrants (61% vs 28% of those who are poor), whereas Russians with poor financial situation tend to consider labor migration as a negative thing (56% vs. 29% of those who are rich).

Interethnic relations

Thirty-nine percent of the Russians think that in recent years relationships between people of different nationalities have become more tense. Over the ten years this share has decreased (by 17 pp.); in 2013, 57% of respondents thought so. Over the entire period of measurement this percentage has changed in a non-linear manner; no directional trend is witnessed.

A further 38% believe that everything looks stable in interethnic relations; there are no changes either for the better or for the worse. Previously, the share of those who think so was fluctuating within 33-40%. Fewer respondents think that interethnic relations have become less tense; today 15% of Russians think so, which is twice as often as ten years ago (7% in 2013). 

The press release uses the data of the VCIOM-Sputnik Russian nationwide telephone surveys from January 2021 through August 4, 2023. A total of 1,600 Russians aged 18 and older were surveyed on a daily basis. Survey method: telephone interviews, stratified random sample based on a complete list of mobile phone numbers in use in Russia. The data were weighted according to social and demographic characteristics. The margin of error at a 95% confidence level does not exceed 2.5%. In addition to sampling error, minor changes to the wording of questions and different circumstances arising during the fieldwork can introduce bias into the survey.

Key effectiveness indicators, survey of 4 August, 2023:

cooperation rate (CR)* = 0,8000; minimum response rate (MRR)**  = 0,0161; response rate (RR)***  =0,1060.

* CR: the number of complete interviews divided by the sum of: а) complete interviews and b) non-interviews with eligible respondents.

** MRR: the number of complete interviews divided by the sum of: а) complete interviews, b) interrupted interviews after successful screening and c) all the respondents where it is unknown whether they meet the selected criteria or not.

 ** RR is calculated in the same way as MRR, with the only difference that the number of respondents with unknown eligibility decreases proportional to the percentage of eligible cases in the total number of respondents with identified eligibility or non-eligibility.