Have you ever heard about the “mysterious Russian soul” when someone starts talking about Russia or Russians. If you plan to come to Russia, or if you just want to understand them then you’ll find the following article of interest.
Levada Analytical Center, non-governmental research organization in Russia, published some interesting results – statistics on how moral constraints of Russian people have been changing over the several decades (since the collapse of the Soviet Union). Remember that previous to this the government worked hard to destroy the church and it can be seen reflected in this report.
The surveys pertained to Russians’ attitudes about:
- criticism of the government,
- adultery,
- white lies,
- crossing the street in the wrong place,
- theft at work,
- sex without love,
- evasion of taxes.
The latest survey was conducted on June 6-10, 2013, on a representative sample of the All-Russian urban and rural population of 1601 people aged 18 years and older in 130 localities from 45 regions of the country.
The distribution of answers is given as a percentage of the total number of respondents, together with data from previous surveys. The statistical error doesn’t exceed 3.4%.
Do you think it is permissible to punish children physically?
| Mar.1992 | Jul.1998 | Mar.2007 | Jul.2009 | Jun.2013 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This is normal, permissible | 16 | 27 | 28 | 22 | 29% |
| This isn’t normal, not permissible | 58 | 63 | 65 | 73 | 63% |
| Hard to say | 26 | 10 | 7 | 6 | 8% |
Do you think it is permissible to cross the street in the wrong place?
| Mar.1992 | Jul.1998 | Jul.2009 | Jun.2013 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| This is normal, permissible | 22 | 29 | 25 | 24% |
| This isn’t normal, not permissible | 61 | 67 | 70 | 72% |
| Hard to say | 17 | 4 | 5 | 5% |
Do you think it is permissible to criticize the government?
| Mar.1992 | Jul.1998 | Jul.2009 | Jun.2013 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| This is normal, permissible | 76 | 85 | 81 | 80% |
| This isn’t normal, not permissible | 8 | 9 | 12 | 12% |
| Hard to say | 16 | 6 | 5 | 8% |
Do you think it is permissible to evade taxes?
| Mar.1992 | Jul.1998 | Jun.2013 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| This is normal, permissible | 19 | 27 | 26% |
| This isn’t normal, not permissible | 46 | 59 | 60% |
| Hard to say | 35 | 13 | 14% |
Do you think it is permissible to live beyond one’s means?
| Apr.1992 | Jul.1998 | Jul.2009 | Jun.2013 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| This is normal, permissible | 24 | 27 | 22 | 32% |
| This isn’t normal, not permissible | 58 | 65 | 69 | 59% |
| Hard to say | 19 | 8 | 9 | 9% |
Do you think it is permissible to have sex before marriage?
| Mar.1992 | Jul.1998 | Jul.2009 | Jun.2013 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| This is normal, permissible | 42 | 52 | 53 | 58% |
| This isn’t normal, not permissible | 36 | 39 | 37 | 31% |
| Hard to say | 23 | 9 | 10 | 11% |
Do you think it is permissible to have lover/mistress in addition to husband/wife
| Mar.1992 | Jul.1998 | Jul.2009 | Jun.2013 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| This is normal, permissible | 26 | 34 | 36 | 34% |
| This isn’t normal, not permissible | 47 | 51 | 52 | 50% |
| Hard to say | 28 | 15 | 12 | 16% |
Do you think it is permissible to steal anything from job?
| Jul.2009 | Jun.2013 | |
|---|---|---|
| This is normal, permissible | 16 | 24% |
| This isn’t normal, not permissible | 77 | 64% |
| Hard to say | 7 | 12% |
Do you think it is permissible to have sex without love?
| Mar.1992 | Jul.1998 | Jul.2009 | Jun.2013 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| This is normal, permissible | 16 | 26 | 32 | 40% |
| This isn’t normal, not permissible | 57 | 59 | 51 | 43% |
| Hard to say | 27 | 15 | 18 | 18% |
Do you think white lie is permissible?
| Mar.1992 | Jul.1998 | Jul.2009 | Jun.2013 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| This is normal, permissible | 33 | 57 | 55 | 61% |
| This isn’t normal, not permissible | 36 | 32 | 34 | 26% |
| Hard to say | 31 | 11 | 11 | 14% |
Statistics by Levada Center
Life in Russia 