MOSCOW, 12 July 2023. Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VCIOM) presents the findings of a survey about the social circle of the Russians.

Socializing or staying lonely: in search of balance

The   Russians increasingly seek well-dosed communication: every second respondent says at times he/she wants to socialize, at times, to stay alone (51%). The share of those who report so has risen over the recent 17 years (+12 p.p.; 39% in 2006). More than one-third of the respondents call themselves an outgoing, sociable person (38%, −7 p.p. since 2006); only 8% say they are reserved. The number of those who gravitate towards being lonely has halved over this period (15% in 2006).

Family above all?

As in 2021, the Russians say they have the closest relationships with the family members – spouse (45%), children (42%) and parents (father, mother) (41%). Men tend to report close and trustworthy relationships with parents (46% vs. 36% women); women, with children (51% vs. 31% men).

More respondents mention remote social circle: friends from childhood or youth (25%, +5 p.p. since 2021); other friends, acquaintances (21%, +5 p.p. since 2021.). Every fifth respondent mentioned brothers, sisters (22%) and coworkers (19%); every seventh, other relatives (in addition to the previously mentioned ones) (15%). Internet friends are least trustworthy (3%). However, Internet friends are ranked 7^th by the 18-24-year-olds (15%) out of nine options; they are more important than coworkers (13%) and children (4%).

VCIOM-Sputnik Russian nationwide telephone survey was conducted 18 June, 2023. 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 mobile phone numbers in use in Russia. The data were weighted for socio-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, survey of 18 June, 2023:  cooperation rate (CR)* = 0.8187; minimum response rate (MRR)** = 0.0188; response rate (RR)*** = 0.1548. Calculations are based on 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 is calculated in the same way as MRR, with the only difference thatthe 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.