Poll: Only 4% of Russians care about restricted rights, freedoms

Moscow - Russians are less concerned about inflation, unemployment, poverty and terrorist threats and more discontented with increasing corruption, social stratification and a crisis of morals this year, Levada Center told Interfax in comment on an August poll. 

The biggest concerns are unchanged: 67% of Russians worry about rising prices and 48% about poverty.

Yet the rate of citizens concerned about inflation declined by 6% over the past year, and the rate concern about poverty went down 4%.

The number of citizens concerned about unemployment fell from 41% to 33%, and the number of those fearing terrorist acts halved, from 12% to 6%.

Fewer Russians worry about environmental problems (a decline from 25% to 21%), the growing crime rate (21% to 16%), deteriorating interethnic relations (9% to 7%) and weakness of the authorities (10% to 8%).

A third of Russians still worry about the economic crisis (32%). Twenty-four percent are concerned over the growing drug addiction rate and bad healthcare, 20% over unaffordable education, and 13% over bureaucratic outrages.

The number of Russians concerned about increasing corruption and bribery grew from 27% to 35% within a year, Levada Center said.

More people are discontent with the pronounced income inequality (an increase from 27% to 29%), a crisis of morals (26% to 31%) and an influx of migrants (12% to 16%).

Only four percent care about restrictions of civil rights and democratic freedoms in the country, 3% about terrorist acts in the Northern Caucasus and 2% about conflicts between power branches.

Respondents were free to choose several answers.