In spite of escalating tensions between Russia and the West over Ukraine, the latest poll conducted by the Levada Center shows that two-thirds of Russians say they’re not too worried about Western sanctions. At the same time, the share of respondents who believe current sanctions are impacting a wide swath of the population, rather than just elites, has nearly doubled from what it was following Russia's takeover of Crimea in 2014.

The poll conducted by Levada, Russia’s leading independent pollster, in December 2021 shows that 66% of Russians are either “not worried at all” or “not very worried” about the West’s political and economic sanctions against Russia. This share is about 8% higher than it was in the months after Russia annexed Crimea and threw its support behind separatists in eastern Ukraine, triggering multiple waves of U.S. and European sanctions. Then, the share of non-worriers averaged 57.8% over five surveys conducted in April-December 2014. One explanation for the lower level of concern may be that Russia and the West are still pursuing diplomacy, and Western countries have threatened harsh sanctions—such as targeting Russia’s largest financial institutions and energy exports to Europe—only if Russia were to use force against Ukraine.

What has changed more significantly between the spring of 2014 and winter of 2021-2022 is Russians’ views of which strata of society are affected by sanctions. In May 2014, 63% of respondents believed that “only a narrow circle of people responsible for Russia’s policy toward Ukraine” are affected by the West’s sanctions. In contrast, only 41% of respondents held that view in December 2021, while 46% believed “wide swaths of Russia’s population” are affected by the punitive measures—nearly double the share of respondents (24%) who held that belief in May 2014.

Photo in the public domain.