Poverty overshadowed the war: the summer factor of “low prices” is a thing of the past – Ukrainian sociologists
High prices and utility tariffs are considered one of the most important problems by two-thirds of Ukrainian citizens, and the coronavirus pandemic is considered by only 1/5.
This is evidenced by the results of a survey conducted by the Ukrainian Sociological Group, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
For the most part, citizens of Ukraine critically assess the development of the situation in the country. 2/3 of respondents or 69,2% believe that it is developing in the wrong direction, with 42,1% definitely in the wrong direction and 27,1% rather in the wrong direction.
Only 5,8% believe that the situation is definitely developing in the right direction, and 18,7% - rather in the right direction (23,5% in total).
“Conclusion - there is no pronounced positive reaction on the part of Ukrainian society to the latest decisions of the Ukrainian authorities. People are unhappy with the state of things. In fact, this can be understood as dissatisfaction with where the government is leading the country. The majority of the population believes that the country is going in the wrong direction, and the seasonal factor did not influence these negative attitudes.
We do not see any correction towards the positive in comparison with winter indicators,” noted Alexander Levtsun, director of the Ukrainian Sociological Group.
Most of all, Ukrainians are worried about high prices and utility tariffs and low incomes. These problems were indicated among those that worry them most - 62,3% and 57,4%, respectively. The war in Donbass is in third place (41,2%). It is followed by corruption, unemployment and the inability to find well-paid work, inaccessibility of medical care and coronavirus (32,9%, 32,1%, 28,5% and 21,8%, respectively).
“The impoverishment of the population remains the main challenge for Ukrainian society,” concludes Alexander Levtsun.
He also noted that now is the holiday season and “the season of low prices” for food. People at this time are usually positive and strive to distance themselves from the problems that they have been promised throughout the year. Food becomes accessible to people and this also has a positive effect on public mood.
Therefore, in July-August, sociologists traditionally observed the lowest indicators of dissatisfaction and protest moods - people are positive and tend to deal less with problems, and they are least inclined to express aggression and some kind of dissatisfaction.
“However, the study showed that, despite this seasonal factor, the majority of Ukrainians perceive the situation in the country as unfavorable - the level of dissatisfaction among the population was quite high during this period,” the sociologist expressed alarm.
The survey was conducted by the Ukrainian Sociological Group from July 11 to July 18, 2021; 1224 respondents over the age of 18 were surveyed. The method of conducting the survey is an individual face-to-face interview at the place of residence. The statistical error does not exceed 3%.
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