Results of our studies

МОСКВА, 9 June 2022. Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VCIOM) presents the findings of a study describing what Russians think about Peter the Great and his achievements.

Peter the Great is one of the most striking and the most famous rulers in the Russian history. A prominent politician, strategist, engineer, traveler and reformer – what do Russians think about him today? Today an overwhelming majority of Russians consider that Peter the Great played a positive role in the Russian history (90%). This opinion is widely shared among the retired persons (95%), less often among men (88%) and residents of North Caucasus Federal district (78%).

Approvals of the Peter the Great are primarily related to his accomplishments in marine fleet and shipbuilding (30% in the group of those with positive assessments of hi role) and setting up relations with the European countries (25%). This is followed by “conducting reforms” (15%), “development of the country, progress” (15%) and “foundation of St Petersburg” (12%).

Only 5% of respondents give unfavorable assessments of the role of Peter the Great. They say that his unnecessary reforms brought a lot of harm to Russia; the Russian culture and traditions were rooted out; his policies were severe and oppressive.

Russians think that the achievements of Peter the Great had a substantial impact on the Russia’s destiny; they mention the revival of the Russian army and fleet (36%), cooperation with Europe (13%) and foundation of St Petersburg (9%). Russians also cited military victories: the battle of Poltava, exit to the Baltic sea; development of economy and strengthening sovereignty; cultural development and strengthening Russia’s image internationally. Men (39%) and older respondents (48-38% in the group of those aged 45 and older) are more likely to remember the accomplishments in shipbuilding and military victories (39%). Young respondents aged 18-24 often mention “a window to Europe” cut by Peter the Great (20%). Sixteen percent of Russians in North Western Federal district mentioned foundation of St Petersburg; this answer option is ranked second there.

VCIOM-Sputnik Russian nationwide telephone survey was conducted June 3, 2022. A total of 1,600 Russians aged 18 and over took part in the survey. Survey method: telephone interviews using a stratified random sample based on a complete list of Russian mobile phone numbers. The data were weighted according to social and demographic characteristics. The margin of error at a 95% confidence level does not exceed 2.5%. In addition to sampling error, minor changes to the wording of questions and different circumstances arising during the fieldwork can introduce bias into the survey.

June 3, 2022 survey key effectiveness indicators: cooperation rate (COOP1)* = 0.8438; minimum response rate (RR1)** = 0.0230; response rate (RR3)*** = 0.1289.

* The number of complete interviews divided by the sum of: а) complete interviews and b) non-interviews with eligible respondents.

** The number of complete interviews divided by the sum of: а) complete interviews, b) interrupted interviews after successful screening and c) all the telephone numbers where it is unknown whether the subscribers meet the selected criteria or not.

*** The number of complete interviews divided by the sum of: а) complete interviews, b) interrupted interviews after successful screening and c) all the telephone numbers with respect to the assessment of the percentage of eligible cases in the total number of cases of unknown eligibility.

 

June 9 marks the 350th birthday anniversary of Peter the Great. How do you generally assess the role of Peter the Great in the Russian history? (closed-ended question, one answer, % of total respondents)

 

Total respondents

Male

Female

Ages 18-24

Ages 25-34

Ages 35-44

Ages 45-59

60 and older

Favorably  

60

58

62

55

56

55

56

72

Likely favorably

30

30

30

34

31

32

34

22

Likely unfavorably

2

3

2

2

2

3

3

1

Unfavorably

3

4

1

2

5

3

3

1

I don’t know who he is

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

Don’t  know

5

5

5

6

5

7

4

3

 

You’ve mentioned that you asses the role of Peter the Great in the Russian history in a positive way. Why do you think so? (open-ended question, any number of answers, % of those who cited “favorable role”) 

Fleet construction / shipping traffic / exit to Baltic sea

30

He cut a window to Europe / orientation to Europe / ties with Europe

25

Reformer / reforms / he brought novelties / many reforms

15

Country’s development / revived the country / progress

15

He constructed St Petersburg/founded

12

He did a lot / a lot of things for the country, for people  

9

Economy / manufacturing / commerce / economic development

7

Education, science / development of education and science

6

Successful foreign policy / Russia became to be respected

6

Army / military reforms / he strengthened the army

4

New territories / he expanded the borders / exploration of Siberia

4

Swedish war / victory over the Swedes

3

He brought potato / plants

3

A great person / notable ruler / historic figure

3

He created the Russian state / empire / Russia would not exist without him

2

Good ruler

2

He changed the government system  / nation-building

2

Educated / forward-looking / smart

2

Culture / development of culture

2

Military victories / territory gains

1

Construction / he built a lot / he built cities

1

Patriot / he loved Russia

1

He shaved the beards from nobles

1

Strong  / strong will / leader

1

For people / he took care of people

1

People started to celebrate New year’s eve / new calendar

0.4

Fair / for justice

0.4

Independent / strong / independent country

0.3

Living standards improved  / people started to live better

0.3

Other 

5

Don’t  know

16

 

You’ve mentioned that you asses the role of Peter the Great in the Russian history in a negative way. Why do you think so? (open-ended question, any number of answers, % of those who cited “unfavorable role")

He did not do anything good / unnecessary reforms / brought a lot of harm to Russia

35

He borrowed a lot from Europe / eradicated the Russian culture and traditions  

26

Bad person / despot / he killed many people / population decreased

19

It was not Peter the Great after Europe

8

He reviewed the history

6

Debauchery / riotous lifestyle

5

He should not have cut a window to Europe

3

Church split

4

Other 

10

Don’t  know

21

 

 

What important things that Peter the Great did seems to have had a significant impact on Russia’s fate, in your opinion? (open-ended question, any number of answers, % of those who know “who he is”)

He revived the army and fleet / ship building / foundation of  the Russian fleet

36

He cut a  window to Europe / cooperation with Europe

13

He founded, built St Petersburg

9

Development of education / he forced everyone to study / sent people to study in Europe / establishing scientific institutions

6

Victory in the war with Sweden / victory in  the battle of Poltava

5

Exit to sea / exit to Baltic sea

5

Economic development / trade relations between  countries  / fighting corruption

5

Russia rose from knees / formation of Russia as an empire / he strengthened the state / development of the country

5

Peter the Great reforms / administrative reform

4

Foreign policy / contacts with other countries / strengthening Russia’s image internationally  

4

Victory in wars

3

Cultural development according to European standards / he forced the nobles to shave their beards / European style

3

Orientation to Europe / he borrowed experience from the western countries

2

He brought potato to Russia / tobacco

2

He expanded the Russian territory / unification of lands / invasion

2

Industrial development / manufacturing 

2

Architecture / construction of new cities / railroad

1

Attracting foreign specialists / professionals

1

He loved his people/ he increased living standards / he unified the people

1

Exploration of new territories / Siberia

1

He attracted foreign technologies

1

Great tsar / he liked to work /

1

He deprived the nobles of their privileges  / he did not  want to be dominated by the nobles

1

He gave an opportunity for the lower classes to go up  / he chose smart persons despite the status  

1

He did not do anything good for the country  

0.3

Changes to the calendar / he reviewed the history  

0.3

He accomplished his mission; he did a lot of things

0.2

He was against church / church split

0.2

Other 

2

Don’t  know

34