Social well-being of Russians during the spread of coronavirus

Abstract

On the basis of results of the all-Russian polls executed with assistance of the Russian Science Foundation (project No. 17-78-30029 “Cognitive mechanisms and discourse strategies of overcoming socio-cultural threats in historical dynamics. A multidisciplinary research”) in 2019 and in 2020, some aspects of transformation of social well-being of the population in the conditions of COVID-2019 pandemic were analyzed. Considering the spread of coronavirus infection as a social threat, revealing shifts in the assessment of the economic and political situation in Russia, in the self-assessment of their own well-being, confidence in the future and in the attitude to the population to power, it was concluded that the mood of citizens was shifting into a negative direction, which was determined by a number of circumstances of objective and subjective nature. The study found that the highest degree of anxiety among Russians is still caused by socio-economic issues. At the same time, the coronavirus pandemic has increased society’s demand for an adequate state response to such extreme situations. When comparing the opinions of respondents about effectiveness of the activities of regional and federal executive authorities during a pandemic, the authors come to the conclusion that regional and local authorities are growing in trust and popularity, which is associated with the transfer of responsibility for resisting coronavirus to the level of subjects of the Russian Federation.