Some Russians began to consider sanctions overcome

The share of economic "optimists" in Russia in May exceeded the share of "pessimists" and reached 34-35%, Re-Russia writes , citing polls by FOM and Levada Center (recognized as a foreign agent).

Optimists are those respondents who answer positively to most questions about the prospects for changes in the financial situation of the family, economic conditions in the country, and living standards over the next year.

“With the exception of the last two months, there were more “economic pessimists” in Russian society than there were “economic optimists” for the entire available observation time, and the group of hesitant ones balanced at the level of 40%, decreasing in moments of crises,” the researchers write. The trend of growing economic optimism and decreasing fears is stable in all key socio-demographic groups.

Sociologists see two trends in these statistics. Firstly, the phenomenon of "rally under the flag", that is, a short-term increase in the loyalty of respondents to the government. Secondly, the perceived “lightened” effect of the sanctions: the collapse of the banking system did not happen, many companies only suspended their activities, the ruble began to strengthen.

“A significant part of those polled by the FOM and the Levada Center could form the idea that Russia has already coped with the crisis, and that it did it as quickly and successfully as possible, despite gloomy forecasts. This “miracle” of a rapid recovery from the crisis could have been reflected in a surge in economic optimism,” the researchers write. Given that the sanctions have a delayed effect, the economic optimism of the population may turn out to be short-lived and give way to a wave of pessimism in early autumn, they note.