MOSCOW, 4 May 2024. Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VCIOM) presents the findings of a monitoring study devoted to the Orthodox Easter.  

Major Christian holiday

Over the entire period of measurement (since 2006) Easter has been one of the most important holidays losing out only to Victory Day and New Year’s Eve. The year 2021 was the only exclusion, with International Women’s Day being the third popular holiday among Russians for the first time. However, an April survey finds that the orthodox holiday is still very popular (29% vs 24% of those who prefer March 8^th). Remarkably, for the Russian women International Women’s Day is also less important than the Orthodox Easter (28% vs. 36% respectively). 

The role of Easter is expectedly more important in the life of the Orthodox Russians (40%), whereas another Christian holiday, Christmas, is less important (26%). At the same time, young adults equally appreciate both holidays, though to a lesser degree: 12% of Zoomers (who were born in 2001 or later) and 18% of Younger Millennials (1992-2000). If the Thaw generation (before 1947) ranks Easter the second important holiday (46%), two younger generations rank it 6^th and 7^th, respectively. Today 38% of Zoomers and 45% of Younger Millennials identify themselves with Orthodox Christians (vs. 64% of total respondents), whereas the shares of non-believers are 28% and 23% respectively (vs. 13% of total respondents). This trend is globally widespread. As early as 2018, Pew Research Center presented the findings of a large international study[1], showing a gap in levels of religious observance between the younger (aged 18-39) and older adults (aged 40+) all around the world. In particular, the study measured four indicators: religious affiliation, how important religion is to a person, attendance frequency, and prayer frequency. In Russia significant differences between generations were found for the first and the fourth indicator.

A tribute to tradition

When asked an open-ended question about what exactly is celebrated on Easter, most of Russians give a correct answer – the resurrection of Jesus (42%, 45% in 2021; 50% in 2019. A further 6% call it a great Orthodox Christian holiday; 5% confuse it with Christmas; 32% fail to give any answer.  

Since 2011 public perceptions of Easter have changed: previously respondents perceived Easter as a family (24%) and cultural and historic tradition (22%) and as a sacred ritual (21%), but today the sacred meaning of this holiday is almost gone. Nowadays two-thirds of Russians perceive Easter as a tradition (67%): as a cultural and historic tradition (30%, +8 p.p. over thirteen years), as a family tradition (24%) or just a formal tradition (13%). Twelve percent of respondents view this holiday as a sacred ritual (12%, −9 p.p. over thirteen years); for 10% it is a pleasant preparation for a bright holiday (10%).

How to celebrate it?

Easter is celebrated massively in Russia: 85% of Russians are going to celebrate it this year. The most popular Easter traditions Russians follow are making Easter dishes (eggs, Easter cake, kuliches) (55%), receiving guests/paying social visits (36%), blessing the Easter foods at the church (20%) and visiting a cemetery (18%). Respondents are also going to give presents and attending a night service (8%, each). Another 15% say they are not going to celebrate Easter this year.

Over the entire period of measurement (since 2005) it was only once when the share of those who celebrate Easter was lower than 80%: during the pandemic and due to the related restrictions (34% in 2020). The most common activity was to make Easter dishes (44%); hardly anyone could receive guests, exchange gifts, visit a church or a cemetery (7%, 3%, 3% and 4% respectively). Anyway, remembering the dead at the cemetery and blessing the foods were in decline before the pandemic; over the recent fifteen years (since 2009) these answers have been less common (-11 p.p. and -7 p.p., respectively).

 VCIOM-Sputnik Russian nationwide telephone survey was conducted 21 April, 2024. A total of 1,600 Russians aged 18+ were surveyed. 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 21 April, 2023:  cooperation rate (CR)* = 0.7643; minimum response rate (MRR)** = 0.0114; response rate (RR)*** = 0.0725.  calculations are based on corporate standards: 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 that the 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.

* Combined answer options: Islam, Catholicism, Judaism. Buddhism. Protestantism.

Before 2017, surveys were conducted through household face-to-face interviews (“Express” project); stratified multi-stage quota-based sample; quotas based on socio-demographic parameters, representative of the Russian population aged 18+ by settlement type, sex, gender, education. Sample size, unless otherwise stated, is 1,600 respondents.

[1] See: The Age Gap in Religion Around the World. URL: https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2018/06/13/the-age-gap-in-religion-around-the-world/