Growing poverty and rising prices topped a list of Russians’ biggest concerns for a third year running, according to a new Levada Center poll.
Nearly two-thirds of those polled said rising prices were the most pressing issue they faced, according to the survey. Poverty came in second at 45 percent, followed by growing unemployment and corruption at 33 percent, the poll shows.
The top three issues highlight the state’s inability to manipulate these categories with the help of propaganda mechanisms, Levada Center sociologist Karina Pipiya told RBC.
Meanwhile, the pollster revealed that only 4 percent of respondents were most concerned about restrictions on civil rights and pressure on independent media.
Levada polled a total of 1,600 people in 48 of the country’s regions over Aug. 18-22.
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