A recent survey revealed the top-5 actions that Russians see as immoral. The polling was conducted by phone at the end of February 2020.

What actions are seen as unacceptable in Russia?

WCIOM, The All Russian Public Opinion Research Centre, asked respondents in a recent poll about their attitudes to different types of objectionable or unlawful behaviours. Some of these actions people see as totally unacceptable, others viewed as deserving to be forgiven, while the third type is seen as permissible at times.

• The least objectionable of all the things on the list was the use of profanities: Only 31% of respondents see it as unacceptable. In 2016 poll 45% of participants said it was unacceptable; the attitudes have obviously softened.
• Surprisingly, 66% of participants also think that it’s OK to travel on public transport without purchasing a ticket; only 32% of respondents said it was unacceptable.
• Resisting police is viewed as either forgivable or acceptable at times by 45% of respondents. In 2016, only 35% of participants thought this way. In 2020, less than half of respondents think that resisting police is definitely unacceptable (48%).
• Trying to avoid compulsory army service is seen as something that can be either forgiven or accepted at times by 46% of respondents, as compared to 33% in 2016. Only 1 in 2 Russians think it is unacceptable (50%); in 2016 the shares of people who saw is as definitely objectionable was 64%.
• Smoking in an area that is non-smoking is viewed as unacceptable by 52% of users, while 46% think it’s either should be forgiven or acceptable sometimes. The numbers were similar in 2016 with a slightly higher share of people seeing it as wrong (56%).
• 19% of locals think that marital infidelity should be forgiven, while further 21% think that such a conduct is OK at times; in total, 4 out of 10 Russians don’t see such behaviour as definitely immoral. The share of people who stated this was something not acceptable dropped from 67% in 2016 to 52% in 2020.
• “Finders keepers” ideology is seen as immoral by 57% of respondents (55% in 2016).
• Tax avoidance is seen as less objectionable in 2020: 59% of respondents view it as unacceptable, while 16% would like it to be forgiven and 20% support the view it is OK at times. In 2016, 68% of respondents viewed tax avoidance as unacceptable.

Top-5 the most objectionable actions

1. Using illegal drugs: 90% (93% in 2016).
2. Bribery: 85% (83% in 2016).
3. Public discrimination by religion: 70% (80% in 2016).
4. Public discrimination by nationality: 72% (81% in 2016).
5. Alcohol abuse: 66% (78% in 2016).

Basically, only bribery and “finders keepers” ideology gained in the factor of unacceptability within the last 4 years, and even these numbers are close to statistical error (2%).

The views on other types of objectionable behaviour softened slightly or substantially: Ticketless rides on public transport became more acceptable by 16%, marital infidelity by 15%, and the use of profanities by 14%.

It’s unsurprising that alcohol abuse made the top-5 of deplorable actions, although this behaviour also became more acceptable by 12%. Women from Russia often quote alcohol abuse as the quality that makes local men less desirable as long-term partners.

See also:

• How dedicated are Russian women in a relationship?
• Top-12 things that Russian wives do for fun
• How Russians meet their partners: What is the most popular way?
• Top-31 qualities that Russian women value in men