MOSCOW, July 18. /TASS/. Russian citizens believe their personal lives and the situation in the country in 2017 are better than in 2015-2016, a survey conducted by the Russian Public Opinion Research Center showed on Tuesday.
"Russians’ current assessments of the situation in their personal lives and in the country, as well as expectations about the future significantly exceed those of mid-2015 and 2016," the pollster said in a statement obtained by TASS.
According to the results of the survey, the personal life assessments of Russians in June 2017 (59 points) exceed those of the two previous years - 38 points in June 2016, 46 points in June 2015. The index assessing the situation in the country in June 2017 was 34 points, while in 2016 it came in negative (minus 3 points) and in 2015 it chalked up just 18 points.
The social expectations index, which shows how optimistic Russians are about the country’s future, was negative in 2017 (minus 39 points). However, in the two previous years it was even lower (minus 48 points in 2016 and minus 42 points in 2015).
According to Stepan Lvov, head of the pollster’s research department, the first half of 2017 can be described as a period of "steady recovery from the tailspin " that our society found itself in a year ago. "Many indeed thought back then that a streak of bad luck had begun. However, there are no assurances that this summer our citizens will be confident that a way out of a complex situation is guaranteed. The assessments of the current situation are so far not conducive to overcoming the fears of a recurrence in the crisis," he noted.
The poll was conducted on June 22-27, 2017, with 1,600 people interviewed.