MOSCOW, October 31. /TASS/. For 41% of Russians, the concept of a "foreign agent" is associated with the image of an enemy and a traitor, a survey conducted by the VCIOM Analytical Center said.

It says 75% of Russians know or have heard something about the law on foreign agents, which is five percentage points more than in 2022. For 41% of respondents, a foreign agent is "first of all an enemy and a traitor."

Among the respondents who are aware of or have heard about the legislative act, 65% believe the foreign agent label is "rather necessary," whereas in 2022 this opinion was shared by 54%. It’s the older generations that are the biggest proponents of this view: 70% of respondents of the reform generation (born from 1968 to 1981) and 76% of the stagnation generation (born from 1948 to 1967). Support among young people is lower - from 53% (born from 1992 to 2000) to 56% (born after 2001).

The study notes that 30% of the respondents mention the term stirs up negative emotions. The label is associated with certain high-level celebrities more than anyone else - Russians are more likely to recall famous artists and bloggers than politicians or organizations. The three most recognizable foreign agents included Maxim Galkin (28%; recognized in Russia as a foreign agent), Andrey Makarevich (8%; recognized in Russia as a foreign agent) and Morgenstern (7%; recognized in Russia as a foreign agent).

About the survey

The VCIOM-Sputnik All-Russian telephone survey was conducted on October 3, 2025 among 1,600 Russians aged 18 and over.