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Nearly 70% of Russians consider themselves happy, poll reveals

In response to the question of whether happiness depends on external circumstances or only on a person's character, 43% of Russians named a person’s inner constitution as important

MOSCOW, March 20. /TASS/. Almost 70% of Russians consider themselves happy, and for the majority of respondents the concept of happiness means good health for themselves and their loved ones, as well as having close relatives nearby, according to the results of a poll by social network VK for the International Day of Happiness, which is celebrated on March 20.

"As many as 69% of respondents consider themselves happy people, 16% are rather unhappy, and 14% found it difficult to answer," the poll results say. For the majority of respondents, the concept of "happiness" means good health, both their own and that of their loved ones, and having close relatives nearby, while inner peace also turned out to be an important ingredient of personal happiness. In addition, slightly less than half of Russians noted that experiencing positive emotions requires seeing their children succeed, as well as love and enjoying genuine closeness with another person. "The feeling of love and care from loved ones makes 54% of respondents feel happiness. The birth of a child or grandchild (45%), and vacations and travel (48%) also evoke positive emotions. For some people, just good weather and a good mood is enough [to feel happy]," the authors note.

In response to the question of whether happiness depends on external circumstances or only on a person's character, 43% of Russians named a person’s inner constitution as important, and the same number of people are confident that a feeling of happiness stems from both factors, while a tenth of respondents believe that the environment still plays a role, affecting life satisfaction. "For happiness, half of the respondents lack peace of mind, health and favorable external circumstances. A fifth of Russians complained about a lack of time for themselves, a good job and opportunities for personal fulfillment. All these factors prevent people from feeling satisfied," the study says.

The survey was conducted among readers of the VK VFocuse Mail.ru and Health Mail.ru projects on March 14-18. Over 22,000 people took part in the survey.

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