MOSCOW, December 9. /TASS/. Russian citizens consider military personnel (52%), medical workers (45%), and employees of the Emergency Situations Ministry (40%) to be the biggest heroes of 2025, a poll conducted by the analytical center of the Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VCIOM) shows.
The top three is followed by volunteers and social workers (19%), and police officers (18%).
"While during the pandemic year of 2020, public attention was focused on doctors and virologists, starting in 2022, the focus has been on the military," the report says.
However, young Russians (born in 2001 and later) still consider doctors to be the biggest heroes (57%).
Nearly a third of Russian citizens defined heroism as self-sacrifice and a willingness to take personal risks for others (31%). Defending the country and serving society are also of considerable importance (20%). Helping and saving lives in civilian life play a role (10%). Another 9% believe that being a hero is about a person’s character - integrity, responsibility, loyalty, and honesty.
"Amid the ongoing military action and the high risk to human life, the concept of heroism in Russia is primarily associated with the exploits of three professional groups. The first one is military personnel defending our country and its people. The second one is rescuers risking their lives to save the lives of others. And the third one is doctors and other medical workers. The heroism of scientists, inventors, teachers, and others has taken a dip by comparison. It can be expected that after the end of the special military operation, heroism will encompass even more fields, but this is still a long way off," Valery Fedorov, General Director of the VCIOM analytical center, said summing up the results.
The survey was conducted on November 27 among 1,600 Russian over the age of 18.