The persistent negative outlook among the Russian populace is most evident in their perception of the future. Even in the relatively prosperous year of 2019, 62% of Russians, according to the Public Opinion Foundation (FOM), felt that the country’s situation was not conducive to life planning. But In the atmosphere of uncertainty and stress that has developed in Russia in the third year of the war, Russians avoid making plans for several years ahead or thinking about the future.

“This behaviour deepens the state of anxiety, especially if there are expectations of a negative outcome,” writes Elena Koneva, sociologist and founder of ExtremeScan, a research organization.

According to ExtremeScan survey data from the autumn of 2023, the so-called “special military operation” came in third place among significant factors affecting respondents’ personal lives, after health (their own and that of loved ones) and family income.

“Available research in Russia shows a significant increase in anxiety and depressed moods,” Koneva says.

No future without an end to the war

Russian people want to believe in the future but they cannot, with respondents 35 years old or younger the most pessimistic, her research reveals. Those in the older age group tend to demonstrate optimism, though they admit that it is not based on facts but an unfounded belief in Russia’s strength and luck.

“The experience of recent years shows that even if the bullet has been dodged for now, people should nonetheless prepare for a worsening of the situation in every sense,” says Koneva.

“There are no factors militating for an improvement.”