An all-time high of 94 percent Russians consider themselves patriots, comparing to 92 percent last year, a poll by Russia's Public Opinion Research Center (VTsIOM) shows.
Despite rabid Western propaganda and attempts by their elites to drive a wedge between the population and Russia's leadership, 62 percent of those polled consider themselves "unconditional" patriots.
That was an increase of ten percentage points since last year. Back in 2022, at the start of Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine, unconditional patriotism witnessed an eight-point surge.
When the survey was first launched in 2005, the number of Russians who called themselves 'unconditional’ patriots was at 47 percent.
VTsIOM’s poll was conducted in early March, based on phone interviews with a representative sample of 1,600 adult Russians. It revealed that patriotic sentiments are shared by:
93 percent of Russia’s male population
95 percent of Russia’s female population
87 percent of young Russians aged18 to 24
94 percent of Russians aged 60 or above
94 percent of Russia's urban population
95 percent of rural residents
The surge in “unconditional patriotism” dates back to the events of 2014, recalled the pollster, when their share significantly exceeded the share responding “rather yes” (48 percent versus 36 percent) for the first time in many years.
At the time, the Crimea was reunified with Russia, becoming a region of the country once again.
Moscow has repeatedly stated that Crimeans voted for reunification democratically and in full compliance with international law and the UN Charter.
Last year, the same pollster revealed that a large majority of Russians (80.9 percent) trusted Putin, despite efforts to demonize him driven by the West. 77.1 percent said they approved of his performance at the helm of the country.