For example, according to surveys commissioned by the Central Bank in January 2021, that is, at the end of the pandemic, the participation of optimists and those inclined to optimism was 25%, while pessimists and those inclined to a gloomy vision of the things they represented for 35%.
However, in the summer of 2022, despite all the ups and downs of the sanctions war, the situation has been reversed. In July, the proportion of pessimists decreased to 22%, while the number of optimists increased to 39% of the population. But in the fall of last year, the gloomy mood returned to Russia, and the question arose whether the stock of positive expectations accumulated over the summer had not been exhausted.
January demonstrated that this was not the case. The proportion of those who hope for the best has set a record and reached the mark of 41%, while those who hope for the worst in the country today are only 22%. Which is really surprising, given our national tradition of scowling at the world. I repeat, there have not been so many optimists in Russia since 2013. There has also been an increase in the number of those who claim to have savings. According to the study, 40% of Russians have savings today. More was only in August 2014 – 41%.
Here, I think psychology plays a role. Most likely, the amount of money available, if it has grown, is insignificant, but confidence in the future has increased, and in connection with this, savings began to be perceived as one of the guarantees of future well-being. This was reflected in the responses of the respondents.
Consumer activity, the willingness to buy goods and services, came out of hibernation in January and is up. So far, it is still below the same indicators as last year, but the gap is smaller than last fall. Another record is the decrease in the proportion of citizens who believe that their financial situation has deteriorated over the last year. Today there are 28% of them, while a year ago 35% of Russians shared this point of view.
What else to pay attention to: in January, the depth of planning, characteristic of Russians, increased markedly – there were more of those who intend to achieve their life goals in the next 5 years. In fact, there are not too many such people, about 20%. However, an increase in their number is a good sign. This means that the new reality that emerged in our country last year brought not only problems, but also opportunities for self-realization and development.
