Latova N.V. The dynamics of subjective well-being of the Russians in the context of confrontation with the collective West. In: Russian society and challenges of the time. Book Eight ...

Abstract

Over the past decade, Russians' satisfaction with many aspects of their lives has undergone positive changes. This primarily concerns characteristics related to their standard of living. Even the population's perception of their financial situation in 2023–2024 was not as negative as usual. Other characteristics related to citizens' daily lives and employment, as well as those related to the availability of various public goods, have also improved. However, it is still too early to talk about significant positive changes in the quality of life of the general population. In addition, a certain pattern can be seen: a more noticeable improvement in satisfaction is observed in those areas that are more closely related to the efforts of the country's citizens themselves. The picture is less optimistic when it comes to those aspects of their lives that depend to a greater or lesser extent on the state. Although the confrontation with the collective West entered a phase of escalation in 2022, the associated socio-economic crisis of 2022 was much easier for Russians to endure than the similar crisis of 2014–2016. Translated with DeepL.com (free version) Over the past decade, Russians' satisfaction with many aspects of their lives has undergone positive changes. This primarily concerns characteristics related to their standard of living. Even the population's perception of their financial situation in 2023–2024 was not as negative as usual. Other characteristics related to citizens' daily lives and employment, as well as those related to the availability of various public goods, have also improved. However, it is still too early to talk about significant positive changes in the quality of life of the general population. In addition, a certain pattern can be seen: a more noticeable improvement in satisfaction is observed in those areas that are more closely related to the efforts of the country's citizens themselves. The picture is less optimistic when it comes to those aspects of their lives that depend to a greater or lesser extent on the state. Although the confrontation with the collective West entered a phase of escalation in 2022, the associated socio-economic crisis of 2022 was much easier for Russians to endure than the similar crisis of 2014–2016. However, this positive aspect has its own specific features, primarily related to negative symptoms in terms of satisfaction with the level of personal security and opportunities to express one's political views. The relationship between subjective well-being and the consequences of the SVO can only be traced in a very limited number of aspects of life. All the large-scale problems that stand out in Russian society based on an analysis of citizens' satisfaction with various aspects of life can be divided into two groups. The first group includes those that are currently clearly affected by the SVO, primarily the level of personal safety. The second group includes characteristics of material well-being, opportunities for recreation during vacations, opportunities to receive quality medical care, etc. It should be noted that these are traditional problems for Russia that are not related to confrontation with the collective West.