Public prestige of armed forces has substantially increased.
MOSCOW, October 12, 2016. Russian Public Opinion Research Centre (VCIOM) presents the data of the survey describing public perceptions of army as social institution and as a priority area for financing amidst crisis.
Two-thirds of Russians (64%) perceive the army as a “school of hard knock” for young people; this share has almost doubled over a quarter of a century (33% in 1990). Every fourth opposes this viewpoint (23%); the share of the opponents of this idea was 42% twenty-five years ago.
Army is regarded to be one of the key social institutions that shape traditional values of Russians, such as patriotism, (39%). Top three values also involve family (67%) and school (49%). Rarer respondents mention mass media (14%), church (13%) or public and patriotic movements (13%).
Every second Russian (52%) sees Russian officers as people of strong moral character and believes that young men must follow their example. Persons who think so are mainly respondents aged 35-44 and 60 and over (56% and 55, respectively). Every third Russian resident (34%) does not see anything special about army officers. This stance is mostly shared by young respondents aged 18 - 34 (38%) and least supported by those who are aged 60 and over (28%).
Most of Russians (58%) consider that the development of the military industry leads to positive changes in economy in general. One-quarter of Russians (27%) oppose this statement.
In today’s tricky economic situation, one in two Russians would give spending priorities to national defense. Every third (35%) thinks that it is more important to satisfy the social demands, i.e. to improve health and education services and only after that to pay attention to defense and security.
VCIOM survey was conducted on August 20-21, 2016, in 130 settlements, 46 regions and 9 federal districts of Russia. Sample size was 1600 persons. The survey was conducted with multi-stage stratified sample based on general rule of walking and quotas at the final selection stage; the sample is representative of the Russian population aged 18 and over according to sex, age, education, type of settlement. The margin of error (taking into account the design effect) with 95% confidence interval does not exceed 3.5%. The survey method is community-based formalized face-to-face interviews. Apart from the margin of error, minor changes in question wording and different circumstances arising during the field work should be taken into account.
In your opinion, what social institutions play a key role in reproduction of traditional values, intensify the sense of patriotism and love for the motherland? (closed-ended question, not more than three answers, %) | |
| Total respondents |
Family | 67 |
School | 49 |
Army | 39 |
Mass media | 14 |
Religious organizations, church | 13 |
Public and patriotic movements | 13 |
Public organizations | 6 |
Political parties | 2 |
Other (specify) | 1 |
None of the institutions play this role | 4 |
Don’t know | 9 |
Which statement best describes your opinion about the impact of the compulsory military service on the life of young people? (closed-ended question, one answer, %) | |||
| 1990* | 2015 | 2016 |
Military service is a good experience for young people | 33 | 64 | 64 |
Military service often makes moral, or even physical, damage | 42 | 25 | 23 |
Don’t know | 25 | 11 | 13 |
* In 1990, the survey referred to the Soviet army. The survey included all-Russian representative sample involving urban and rural populations aged 16 and over, N=1520.
Which of the following statements do you most agree with? (closed-ended question, one answer, %) | ||||||
| Total respondents | Aged 18-24 | Aged 25-34 | Aged 35-44 | Aged 45-59 | Aged 60 and more |
Russian officers have strong moral character, and they are good examples to follow for any man | 52 | 50 | 50 | 56 | 50 | 55 |
Russian officers are ordinary citizens; they cannot be examples to follow for a man | 34 | 38 | 38 | 33 | 34 | 28 |
Don’t know | 14 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 16 | 17 |
Which of the following statements do you most agree with? (closed-ended question, one answer, %) | |
| Total respondents |
Military industry is an important economic sector; its development shapes the economic development of Russia in general | 58 |
Military industry is just one of many economic sectors; its development does not shape the economic development of Russia in general | 27 |
Don’t know | 15 |
Imagine that your friends are discussing the army topic. Which of the following statements would you agree with? (closed-ended question, one answer, %) | |||||||
| Total respondents | Residents of Moscow and St. Petersburg | Million cities | Residents of large cities | Residents of middle cities | Residents of small cities | Rural area |
What is important first is to provide funding for social issues, to elevate education, health etc. standards, only after that to tackle defense and security issues | 35 | 36 | 30 | 30 | 37 | 33 | 37 |
In the current difficult situation related to foreign policy, ensuring the military capabilities of the country is a high priority area for budget spending compared to other expenditures | 50 | 49 | 50 | 58 | 50 | 50 | 48 |
Don’t know | 15 | 15 | 20 | 12 | 13 | 17 | 15 |
Note: Using materials from the site www.wciom.ru or wciom.com, as well as distributed by VCIOM, the reference to the source (or hyperlink for the electronic media) is obligatory!