MOSCOW, 20 October 2022. Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VCIOM) presents the data of a study regarding the attitudes of Russians towards the initiative to cancel the New Year’s gatherings this year.
A number of Russian regions announced cancelling the upcoming New Year’s Eve celebrations in order to redistribute “free” funds towards the military. Although the initiative was not supported by the Ministry of Defense, it was taken up by certain cities and regions, including Leningrad oblast, Kaliningrad, Nizhny Novgorod, etc. Fifty-nine percent of Russians are somewhat aware that the regional and municipal authorities proposed not to hold celebrations this year. More than one-third of respondents are aware of this initiative (39%); 20% heard of it without details. Forty-one percent of respondents learned about it for the first time.
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Despite the fact that a limited number of regions supported the initiative, on the whole Russians are ready to abandon celebrations this year. Three-quarters of respondents say they support or will support the decision if it is approved by the authorities (74%). Every second respondent explains that that there is a shortage of equipment for the conscripts and they want to help the Russian army (47% of those who support the initiative). A quarter of respondents say that there is no place for celebrations during the special military operation (24%). A further 7% consider that it will accelerate the end of the SMO; 6% stress the importance of moral support for the conscripts.
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Seventeen percent of respondents have an alternative viewpoint; the share of young Russians aged 18-24 who oppose the idea is almost twice as high (30%). They say that people need to get distracted from routine (18% in the group of those who do not support the decision). Almost the same number of people think that children should not be left without celebrations (17%). There are also those who say that the SMO should be funded from other sources (12%), and there is no point saving up on this holiday (10%).
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Russians are less unanimous in their views regarding the cancellation of New Year parties. Every second respondent considers that this year organizations should abandon the idea to hold New Year’s office parties (54%); 30% think corporate parties should be held to celebrate New Year. Sixteen percent of respondents are undecided.
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VCIOM-Sputnik Russian nationwide telephone survey was conducted 14 October, 2022. A total of 1,600 Russians aged 18 and over took part in the survey. Survey method: telephone interviews, stratified random sample based on a complete list of landline and 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, October 14, 2022: cooperation rate (CR)* = 0.8300; minimum response rate (MRR)** = 0.0245; response rate (RR)*** = 0.1143.
Calculations based on the corporate standard https://profi.wciom.ru/principy_standarty/korporativnyj-standart-po-izmereniyu-rezultativnosti-oprosov-sputnik-vciom/
* 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: 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.
Authorities in a number of Russian regions and cities propose not to celebrate New Year’s events in order to redistribute the saved funds to provide assistance to the conscripts. Do you know about it, or not? (closed-ended question, one answer, % of total respondents) | |||||||
| Total respondents | Moscow and St Petersburg | Million-plus cities | 500-950 thousand inhabitants | 100-500 thousand inhabitants | under 100 thousand inhabitants | Rural area |
I know | 39 | 53 | 50 | 45 | 40 | 33 | 29 |
I heard something but I do not know any details | 20 | 20 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 23 | 18 |
I hear about it for the first time | 41 | 27 | 32 | 36 | 40 | 44 | 53 |
If the authorities in your region decide or have decided not to celebrate New Year’s events to apply funds towards the conscripts, are you more likely to support or not to support this decision? (closed-ended question, one answer, % of total respondents) | ||||||||
Total respondents | Men | Women | Ages 18-24 | 25-34 | 35-44 | 45-59 | 60 + | |
Likely to support | 74 | 70 | 78 | 65 | 70 | 77 | 74 | 77 |
Unlikely to support | 17 | 20 | 15 | 30 | 17 | 16 | 18 | 14 |
Don’t know | 9 | 10 | 7 | 5 | 13 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
And why do you support this decision? Several answers are possible (open-ended question, up to 3 answers, % of those who support; responses that gained at least 2% and more) | |
| Total respondents |
Army is experiencing shortages of equipment / we need to help army, the conscripts / not enough equipment, clothes, food / their lives matter | 47 |
War is on; people die / no time for celebrations / a feast in time of plague / how can we celebrate | 24 |
All for the front / for victory / to make everything end faster | 7 |
We need to be united / we need to support the conscripts /moral support | 6 |
There are other spheres money could spend on/ children, healthcare | 3 |
We can organize the holiday by yourself/ New year’s events should be celebrated at home | 3 |
Too much money spent on holidays / it makes no sense | 3 |
I don‘t celebrate New Year’s eve / I don’t go to parties | 3 |
This is right / patriotic / they fight for us | 3 |
Country’s economic situation / it’s better to save up | 2 |
We can go without this holiday / we have many holidays anyway | 2 |
Other | 3 |
Don’t know | 5 |
And why do you not support this decision? Several answers are possible (open-ended question, up to 3 answers, % of those who do not support; responses that gained at least 2% and more) | |
| Total respondents |
We should not deprive people of celebrations / they need to get distracted, to have a rest | 18 |
Children should not be left without celebrations / children should not be touched by that / children need a holiday | 17 |
SMO should be financed from the budget of the Ministry of Defence / should be financed by the state | 12 |
There is enough money in the budget / they should not save up on celebrations | 10 |
People need a holiday / you cannot live without holidays / it mustn’t be banned | 9 |
No reason / no point / it will have no impact | 7 |
It should not affect civilians/ ordinary people / life goes on | 5 |
Against war / it should not be initiated | 4 |
Corruption / everything is being embezzled | 4 |
It will incite discontent in people | 3 |
Low living standards / ripping-off | 2 |
It’s wrong / I do not support the idea | 2 |
People had celebrations even during the Great Patriotic War | 2 |
Against mobilization | 2 |
In any case, people provide help / collect money | 2 |
Celebrations on a small scale are needed / with lower budget | 2 |
Other | 5 |
Don’t know | 8 |
Some people think that companies and organizations should not hold New Year’s corporate parties this year; others believe that celebrations should be held as usual. Which viewpoint is closer to yours? (closed-ended question, one answer, % of total respondents) | ||||||||
Total respondents | Men | Women | Ages 18-24 | 25-34 | 35-44 | 45-59 | 60 + | |
Likely the former; corporate parties should be abandoned | 54 | 49 | 59 | 38 | 44 | 55 | 56 | 63 |
Likely the latter; New Year’s celebrations should be held as usual | 30 | 34 | 27 | 50 | 37 | 31 | 26 | 24 |
Don’t know | 16 | 17 | 14 | 12 | 19 | 14 | 18 | 13 |