Assessments of political situation and general country’s development are improving despite a decrease in people’s satisfaction with social welfare. 

MOSCOW, December 1, 2016.  Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VCIOM) presents the November indices of social well-being of Russians.

The November assessments of life situation, political situation and country’s development vector have slightly gone up; on the contrary, the assessments of economic situation and family situation as well as optimism regarding the future have declined.  

The index describing assessments of political situation increased by 6 points and reached 60 p. (compared to 54 p. in September and October). The share of positive answers (26%) exceeds the share of the negative ones (18%); average assessments still prevail (52%).  A year or two ago the indicator was at the same level (61, 63 pp.).

The index of country’s general development vector assessments has been positive for the second consecutive month: from 56 p. in September to 62 p. in November. The current indicator is lower than the November 2014 and November 2015 maximums (69 and 66 p.) but higher than the same period records from 2006 to 2013.

Over the recent four months, the level of satisfaction with life has been fluctuating at 46-49 p. The November meaning (49 p.) is lower than the 2012-2015 readings. The percentage of those who are satisfied with their living is twice as much as the percentage of pessimists (50% versus 25%).

The index of assessments of economic situation failed to retain its positive August and September trends (40 p.; a 2016 high), starting to go steadily down in October (35 p. in November). A year or two ago the situation was assessed in a more positive way (41, 48 pp.). Currently, 31% of respondents think that the situation is “bad” or “very bad”, and only 13% think that the situation is “good” or “very good”.

The indicator showing how Russians assess their financial well-being is also in decline: it has decreased by 6 points in two months reaching 54 p. According to Russians, in November 2012-2015 the situation was more favorable. Eleven percent of respondents assess their financial income above average; 23% think it is below average.  

Russian optimism regarding the future is decreasing for the third consecutive month (47 p. in November versus 55 p. in August); at the same time, this value does not differ much from the values recorded one and two years ago (49 and 50 p.).  Every fourth Russian (26%) expects positive changes; every fifth (20%)  - deterioration of the situation.

Across all the indices the possible minimum value is -100 p., the possible maximum value is 100 p.

Political Situation Assessment Index shows how Russians assess the political situation in the country; it is calculated as a difference between positive and average assessments and negative assessments. The higher the value of index is, the better respondents assess the political situation in the country; the value can vary between -100 and 100 points. The positive value shows that “not bad” assessments prevail over “bad” assessments; the zero value refers to the balance between “not bad” and “bad” assessments.

Country`s Development Vector Assessment Index shows how Russians assess the general direction of the country`s development; it is calculated as a difference between positive and average assessments and negative assessments. The higher the value of index is, the more respondents approve of the general vector of the country’s development.  The value can vary between -100 and 100 points. The positive value shows that “not bad” assessments prevail over “bad” assessments; the zero value refers to the balance between “not bad” and “bad” assessments.

Satisfaction with Life Index shows how much Russians are satisfied with the lives they live; it is calculated as a difference between positive and average assessments and negative assessments. The higher the value of index is, the more Russians are satisfied with their lives. The value of Index can vary between -100 and 100 points. The positive value shows that “not bad” assessments prevail over “bad” assessments; the zero value refers to the balance between “not bad” and “bad” assessments.

Social Optimism Index shows how optimistic Russians are about the future; it is calculated as a difference between positive and average assessments and negative assessments. The higher the value of index is, the more optimistic Russians are about the future. The value can vary between -100 and 100 points. The positive value shows that optimists prevail over pessimists; the zero value refers to the balance between optimistic and pessimistic assessments.

Economic Situation Assessment Index shows how Russians assess the Russian economic situation; it is calculated as a difference positive and average assessments and negative assessments. The higher the value of index is, the better Russians assess the economic situation; the value can vary between -100 and 100 points. The positive value shows that “not bad” assessments prevail over “bad” assessments; the zero value refers to the balance between “not bad” and “bad” assessments.

Financial Self-Assessment Index shows how Russians assess the financial situation in their families; it is calculated as a difference between positive and average assessments and negative assessments. The higher the value of index is, the more respondents are satisfied with the financial situation in their families. The value can vary between -100 and 100 points. The positive value shows that “not bad” assessments prevail over “bad” assessments; the zero value refers to the balance between “not bad” and “bad” assessments.

The VCIOM survey was conducted on November 19-20, 2016, in 130 settlements, 46 regions and 8 federal districts of Russia. Sample size was 1600 persons. The survey was conducted with multi-stage stratified sample based on general rule of walking and quotas at the final selection stage; the sample is representative of the Russian population aged 18 and over according to sex, age, education, type of settlement.  The margin of error (taking into account the design effect) with 95% confidence interval does not exceed 3.5%. The survey method is community-based structured face-to-face interviews. Apart from the margin of error, minor changes in question wording and different circumstances arising during the field work should be taken into account.

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