The New Year’s spirit did not improve Russian moods that hit the bottom in 2015.

MOSCOW, January 12, 2016. Russian Public Opinion Research Centre (VCIOM) presents the results of the survey describing the Russian assessments of the situation in the country and in their personal lives. 

Social mood index* describing the situation in the country has been showing a negative trend over the recent six months. In December the index dropped to the 2015 minimal value (53 p., range from -100 to 100).  This figure is slightly lower than the November 2014 value (57 p.) and is higher than the records of the previous years. The share of positive assessment makes up 75% (“perfect”, “good”, ”okay”); the share of negative ones is 22% (“bad”, “awful”).

Social mood index* describing personal life hit its 2015 minimum in November (74 p.) and stayed at the same level in December. This record made up 80 p. in November 2014; in the previous years the values were lower than the December record Twenty-seven percent of Russians assess the situation in their lives as “good” or “perfect”; 59% -  as “okay”; 12% - as “bad” or “awful”.

Half of Russians see the future in a negative way: 52% think that the hard times are yet to come. The social expectation index** has lost 17 points from July to December and dropped to -55 p. In 2015, more negative assessment were recorded only in January and February (-70 and -60 p., respectively).  The share of those who believe that the hard times are over has considerably decreased (19% in December). Every fifth (22%) considers that the hard times are now. Russians are less optimistic about Russia’s future than it was in the previous years. Remarkably, for the recent six years this index has stayed negative.

*Social mood indices show how respondents assess the situation in the country and in their personal lives. The indices are based on the following questions: “How would you assess the situation in Russia, in general?” and “How would you assess the situation in your personal life?” Each index is calculated as a difference between the answers “everything is okay”, “”everything is perfect”, “everything is good” AND “everything is bad”, “everything is awful”. The index can vary between-100 and 100 points. The higher the value of index is, the better the situation is in the life and in the country.

**Social expectation index shows how optimistic respondents are about the country’s future. It is calculated as a difference between the answer “the hard times are over” and the sum of answers “the hard times are now” and “the hard times are yet to come”. The index can vary between -100 and 100 points. The higher the value of index is, the more optimistic Russia’s perspectives are seen. The zero value shows the balance between the optimistic and pessimistic assessments.  

The VCIOM opinion poll was conducted on December 26-27, 2015. 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%.

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!