VTsIOM Reported A Rise In Protest Sentiments Among Russians
- 26.05.2026, 16:32
To the maximum since the beginning of the war.
The index of Russians' personal protest potential, which is measured by the state-run VTsIOM, reached a maximum of 25 points in April since the start of the war in Ukraine. The index has been rising for four months in a row, up from 22 points in January, writes "Agency".
The protest potential index has not risen to such a high level since February 2022, when it stood at 27 points. By March 2022, the index had already fallen to 20 points and has not risen above 24 points since then.
The index shows the readiness of Russians to participate in protests, the VCIOM website explains: "The higher the value of the index, the more respondents declare their readiness to take part in protests."
Respondents were asked: "If mass demonstrations against the fall in living standards and in defense of their rights take place in our city/rural district, will you personally take part in them or not?". The index was calculated by assigning 0.9 coefficient to the answer "most likely yes", 0.1 point to the answer "most likely no", and 0.5 points to those who were undecided.
In April, 14% of respondents said they would most likely take part in protests (the share increased by 1 p.p. from March), 77% said they would most likely take part in protests. In April, 14% of respondents said they were likely to take part in protests (the share increased by 1 p.p. from March), while 77% said they were unlikely to take part in protests (the share decreased by 2 p.p. from the previous month).
The VTsIOM itself accompanied its post on the growth of protest sentiment with the headline "It's not time for protests".
The independent Levada Center also recorded the growth of protest potential in late April. According to its data, 20% of Russians believe that mass demonstrations against the fall in living standards are possible, while 14% believe that protests with political demands are possible. This is the maximum since July 2024.
The growth of protest sentiment is taking place against the backdrop of falling government ratings, which are recorded by both the independent Levada Center and the state-run VTsIOM and the Kremlin-affiliated FOM.