International tensions are decreasing amidst deepening economic crisis.
MOSCOW, February 16, 2016. Russian Public Opinion Research Centre (VCIOM) presents the results of the survey devoted to the fears of Russians.
International tensions are less important to Russians: from November through January the fear index lost 7 points and reached 23 p. (in the range from -100 to 100). Remarkably, a year ago the figure was 14 p. (January 2015). At the same time, this fear is still one of the greatest ones. Today 67% of Russians believe that conflicts and military actions are possible.
Anxieties concerning economic problems, internal conflicts and crime rate increase as well as natural disasters are growing. The index reflecting Russian concerns over expensive goods and devaluing savings jumped to 19 p. in January (from 13 p. in December) reaching the January 2015 levels (18 p.). However, the index of fears of decreasing income has stayed the same (-9 p. in December and -8 p. in January).
More Russians are afraid of crime rate increase (after a drop to -3 p. in December; the index has increased again to 3 p.). Possible internal political, ethnic and religious conflicts and riots pose a bigger threat (from -6 p. to 0 p.). The fear of natural disasters experienced a 5-point increase from December to January; the current level (-12 p.) is higher than the previous year record (-19 p.).
The fear of job loss has not changed much over a month (from -25 to -23 p.). A year ago more Russians were concerned about this problem (-19 p. in January). Health concerns and difficulties getting medical aid are at the same level (-3 p.). As before, family problems, conflicts with relatives, and family break-ups seem least possible to Russians (the January index is equal to -48 p. which is lower than a year ago (-30 p.).
*Fear Index shows how high Russians assess the probability of certain event. The Index is based on the question “In your opinion, what is the likelihood that the following events will happen in your life?”; it is measured in points and can vary between -100 and 100. The answers “I am completely confident that it will happen” corresponds to the coefficient “1”; “I think it will happen” – “0.5”; “it is likely to happen” - “0.1”; “it is not likely to happen” - “0.1”; "I think it will not happen -“0.5"; “I am completely confident that it will not happen”- “-1”. The higher the value of index is, the higher the probability of this event is.
The VCIOM opinion poll was conducted on January 30-31, 2016. A total of 1600 respondents were interviewed in 130 settlements in 46 regions and republics of Russia. The margin of error does not exceed 3.5%.
In your opinion, what is the likelihood that the following events will happen in your life? (closed-ended question, one answer, fear index*, in points) | |||||||||||||
| I.15 | II.15 | III.15 | IV.15 | V.15 | VI.15 | VII.15 | VIII.15 | IX.15 | X.15 | XI.15 | XII.15 | I.16 |
International tensions, conflicts between countries, military actions | 14 | 16 | 19 | 14 | 12 | 13 | 10 | 14 | 18 | 20 | 30 | 27 | 23 |
Common products disappeared or became too expensive; savings devalued | 18 | 19 | 19 | 13 | 11 | 8 | 7 | 10 | 16 | 15 | 15 | 13 | 19 |
Crime rampage | 0 | -1 | -1 | -5 | -5 | -9 | -8 | -7 | 0 | -2 | 3 | -3 | 3 |
Health problems; difficulties getting medical assistance and medicines | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | -1 | -5 | -3 | -4 | 0 | -4 | -2 | -3 | -3 |
Riots, inter-ethnic and religious internal conflicts | -1 | -1 | -2 | -4 | -7 | -9 | -9 | -6 | -2 | -7 | 1 | -6 | 0 |
Decrease in income (salary cut, switch to a lower paid job, switch to part-time, delays in paying salaries) | -5 | -5 | -10 | -11 | -13 | -14 | -14 | -15 | -9 | -13 | -10 | -9 | -8 |
Flood, earthquake, other natural disaster | -19 | -17 | -14 | -12 | -18 | -4 | -13 | -13 | -12 | -19 | -17 | -17 | -12 |
Job loss | -19 | -18 | -20 | -22 | -24 | -27 | -27 | -25 | -23 | -31 | -25 | -25 | -23 |
Family conflicts, break-up with relatives | -30 | -35 | -36 | -44 | -43 | -42 | -47 | -42 | -45 | -46 | -47 | -45 | -48 |
In your opinion, what is the likelihood that the following events will happen in your life? (closed-ended question, one answer per each line, % respondents, January 2016) | |||||||
| I am completely confident that it will happen (it has already happened) | I think that it will happen | It is likely to happen | It is unlikely to happen | I think that it will not happen | I am completely confident that it will not happen | Don’t know |
International tensions, conflicts between countries, military actions | 21 | 21 | 25 | 12 | 12 | 4 | 5 |
Common products disappeared or became too expensive; savings devalued | 21 | 19 | 23 | 15 | 13 | 6 | 3 |
Crime rate increase
| 11 | 16 | 23 | 19 | 18 | 7 | 6 |
Health problems; difficulties getting medical assistance and medicines | 8 | 14 | 21 | 22 | 22 | 7 | 6 |
Riots, inter-ethnic and religious internal conflicts , | 10 | 15 | 23 | 19 | 19 | 8 | 6 |
Decrease in income (salary cut, switch to a lower paid job, switch to part-time, delays in paying salaries) | 8 | 13 | 21 | 17 | 18 | 15 | 8 |
Flood, earthquake, other natural disaster | 6 | 12 | 16 | 20 | 22 | 13 | 11 |
Job loss | 4 | 8 | 14 | 21 | 22 | 20 | 11 |
Family conflicts, break-up with relatives | 1 | 4 | 7 | 20 | 28 | 36 | 4 |
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.