Russian Confidence in the Future Plunges to 1990s Lows
6 Articles
6 Articles
The level of pessimism and fear of the future among the Russians has reached record values since the early 1990s when the USSR collapsed. The vast majority of Russian citizens expect serious economic and social difficulties.
Even in the mid-1990s, despite the economic crisis, people were less afraid of the future than they are now.
Russian Confidence in the Future Plunges to 1990s Lows
A poll conducted by the state-run VTsIOM agency in July 2026 revealed that 66% of Russian citizens believe "difficult times" lie ahead for the country, as reported by The Moscow Times on August 19. Public apprehension regarding the future has grown by one-third (+16 percentage points) since the beginning of the year. This shift reflects growing public pessimism driven by Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, economic deterioration, and regula…
Russians Expect the Worst, and Anxiety Reaches Peak. Pessimism and fear of the future among Russians have reached record levels since the early 1990s. The overwhelming majority of Russian citizens expect serious economic and social difficulties, according to RBC-Ukraine, citing The Moscow Times. Record Rise in Pessimism In July 2026, 66% of Russians said that "difficult times" await the country. Since the beginning of the year, the share of thos…
Two thirds of the Russians believe that the country is facing difficult times, and since the beginning of 2026, the proportion of pessimists has increased dramatically, and the current mood is already comparable to that of 1991-1992, the period of the collapse of the USSR and the deep economic crisis.
The percentage of Russians who believe that the worst times for the country are still ahead of them rose to 66 per cent in July 2026, at most since April 2020, when 72 per cent of those interviewed responded, such data are provided by the All-Russian Centre for the Study of Public Opinion based on WCYOM-Sputnik surveys.
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- 50% of the sources lean Left
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