As the VCIOM-Sputnik daily omnibus survey suggests, more than half of Russians heard about the Pokemon Go church incident. Russians are divided in their assessments of the court decision.
MOSCOW, May 25, 2017. The Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VCIOM) presents the results of a survey devoted to the public reaction to the Pokemon Go church incident as well as how Russians asses the court decision.
The action of Ruslan Sokolovsky catching Pokemon at a Yekaterinburg church drew a wide response in the Russian society; 58% of Russians heard about it, but only 15% of respondents are aware of the details.
About one-third of respondents (34%) perceive the incident as blasphemy (they are mainly Orthodox Christians rather than non-believers: 38% vs 21%). A quarter of respondents regard the Sokolovsky’s action as an offence, including 11% of those who treat it as a crime of disorderly conduct; 14% - as a criminal offence. Others consider that a milder punishment should be applied: 18% perceive the action as self-promotion; 16% - as juvenility (26% of atheists and agnostics).
An overwhelming majority of respondents are confident that Sokolovsky deserves punishment any way, however, they think a less severe punishment should be applied. Thus, every third (32%) would sentence the blogger with community service; every fifth (19%) would fine him. A 15-day sentence was mentioned by 5% respondents; a jail term – by every tenth, including 7% of those who opt for real jail term and 5% - for suspended sentence.
The imposed sentence (a 3.5-year suspended sentence) is treated as a severe punishment by some respondents and as a wild punishment by others (16%); however most of Russians (36%) think that the court decision is adequate (40% of Orthodox Christians vs 25% of non-believers). As a comparison, much more Russians perceived the Pussy Riot’s sentence as a severe punishment. The share of those who believe that this case should not be subject to court proceedings at all is quite high (17%).
The VCIOM-Sputnik Russian nationwide survey was conducted on May 16-18, 2017, using stratified dual-frame random sample based on a complete list of landline and mobile phone numbers operating in Russia, and involved 1,800 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 2.5%. In addition to sampling error, minor changes in question wording and different circumstances arising during the fieldwork can introduce bias into the survey.
Do you personally know/have you heard/do you hear for the first time about the action of the Russian blogger Sokolovsky (a young man playing the Pokemon Go at the church)? (closed-ended question, one answer, %) | ||||||
| Total respondents | Aged 18-24 | Aged 25-34 | Aged 35-44 | Aged 45-59 | Aged 60 and more |
I am well aware of that | 15 | 19 | 13 | 13 | 17 | 17 |
I heard something but I do not know any details | 43 | 44 | 38 | 47 | 43 | 44 |
I hear about that for the first time | 41 | 37 | 49 | 39 | 40 | 38 |
Don’t know | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
In August 2016, Ruslan Sokolovsky, a Russian blogger, posted a video of him playing Pokemon Go at a Yekaterinburg church. Sokolovsky wanted to know if the game would be treated as a religious offence or not. His behavior was perceived in an ambivalent manner. Some people treated it as hooliganism; others - as religious offence; and still others as juvenility (playing games for kids in a wrong place). What point of view is closer to yours? (closed-ended question, one answer, %) | |||||
| Total respondents | Followers of Orthodox Christianity | Muslim followers | Followers of other religions | Non-believers, fluctuating between belief and unbelief |
Blasphemy , religious offence | 34 | 38 | 30 | 28 | 21 |
Self-promotion; an attempt to get popularity, to attract attention | 18 | 17 | 21 | 14 | 23 |
Juvenility, playing kid’s games in an inappropriate place | 16 | 13 | 20 | 38 | 26 |
Malicious hooliganism, criminal offence | 14 | 16 | 7 | 0 | 8 |
Petty crime, administrative offence | 11 | 11 | 12 | 17 | 15 |
Other | 3 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 4 |
Don’t know | 4 | 3 | 6 | 3 | 3 |
In your opinion, should Sokolovsky be punished for his behavior? If yes, what kind of punishment would it be? (closed-ended question, one answer, %) | |||||
| Total respondents | Followers of Orthodox Christianity | Muslim followers | Followers of other religions | Non-believers, fluctuating between belief and unbelief |
Community service | 32 | 34 | 30 | 10 | 28 |
Fine | 19 | 18 | 23 | 41 | 20 |
Public condemnation | 8 | 8 | 9 | 14 | 9 |
Real jail term | 7 | 9 | 4 | 0 | 3 |
15-day arrest | 5 | 5 | 7 | 3 | 2 |
Suspended sentence | 5 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
Anathematization (excommunication) | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 |
No punishment should be applied | 8 | 6 | 7 | 21 | 18 |
Other | 6 | 5 | 7 | 4 | 8 |
Don’t know | 8 | 7 | 8 | 4 | 7 |
After trial Sokolovsky was given a three-year-and-a-half suspended sentence. How do you assess the imposed sentence? (closed-ended question, one answer, %) | |||||
| Total respondents | Followers of Orthodox Christianity | Muslim followers | Followers of other religions | Non-believers, fluctuating between belief and unbelief |
The punishment is too severe | 20 | 18 | 22 | 59 | 22 |
The punishment is appropriate | 36 | 40 | 32 | 24 | 25 |
The punishment is too mild | 16 | 18 | 16 | 3 | 10 |
There should not be any punishment | 17 | 13 | 19 | 14 | 30 |
Don’t know | 11 | 11 | 11 | 0 | 13 |
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!