Russians Now Equally Divided as to Whether They Can Trust Others, with Young and Those who Think Their Country is Going in the Wrong Direction Less Likely to Do So, Levada Center Polls Show

Paul Goble

            Staunton, Feb. 13 – According to a December 2025 Levada Center poll, 50 percent of Russians say that they believe it is possible to trust the majority of others, while 46 percent say the opposite, figures that show a slight increase in willingness to trust from 2020 when the numbers of those willing to trust others fell sharply.

            A higher percentage of those who are young, have lower incomes and think the country is going in the wrong direction are more likely to say Russians shouldn’t trust one another than those who are older, have higher incomes or think that Russia under Putin is headed in the  right direction (levada.ru/2026/02/13/uroven-mezhlichnostnogo-doveriya-v-dekabre-2025/).

            That is yet another obstacle that opponents of the Kremlin leader must overcome to organize protests or opposition groups, an obstacle that is seldom considered by those who discuss why the level of protests and opposition activity in the Russian Federation at the present time are as low as they are.