Majority of Russians believe in country’s unity, poll shows
Russia was much less united in 2021, when 61% said that there was no national unity in the country, while only 31% said that there was
MOSCOW, November 2. /TASS/. Almost 60% of surveyed Russians believe that the country is united, according to the results of a poll by the Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VCIOM).
"The past year saw the country band together. In just 12 months, the share of those conscious of national unity almost doubled from 31% to 56% (2021 vs. 2022). In an October 2023 poll, 58% responded that Russia seems to have come together," the pollster said in a statement posted on its website.
Russia was much less united in 2021, when 61% said that there was no national unity in the country, while only 31% said that there was. As many as 45% of Russians noted the strengthening of the people's unity over the past year (compared to 49% in 2022), and 21% said that it was weakening (up from 17% in 2022). A quarter of respondents (25%) believe that nothing has changed since 2022.
Three quarters of Russians (75%) recognize the importance of celebrating National Unity Day (on November 4), with 39% stating this with full confidence, which is the highest share ever recorded in polls. The share of those who believe that holidays like National Unity Day are rather important or not important at all has decreased by 5% over the past year, reaching 21% in 2023.
The number of people aware of the origins of the holiday remains low. Only 24% of respondents know that the holiday was established in memory of the Russian capital’s liberation from Polish invaders. Over half of respondents (59%) found the question difficult to answer, while others (16%) mentioned the 1917 October Revolution, the collapse of the Soviet Union, Constitution Day and other events. The pollster specified that the level of awareness of the origin of the holiday was the highest ever. Thus, 15 years ago, only 13% of respondents were able to recall the liberation of Moscow by Kuzma Minin and Dmitry Pozharsky.
The nationwide telephone survey, conducted on October 28, 2023, involved more than 1,600 Russians aged 18 and above. The margin of error does not exceed 2.5% at a 95% confidence level.