russians Are Becoming “Unhappier” with Life in the Country with Each Passing Day

russia’s “happiness index” is plummeting. Last month, it fell by 9 points – to its lowest level since 2011. The percentage of respondents who consider themselves unequivocally “unhappy” reached 9%, which is also a sort of a record high since measurements began. russians’ level of unhappiness has been influenced by the general state of the country, the government’s predatory policies, the war against Ukraine, and local hardships. At the same time, the russian government officials’ interpretation of the concept of “happiness” differs radically from the views of ordinary russian citizens.

For example, governor of the nenets autonomous okrug irina gekht  proudly reported during a meeting with putin that each tenth resident of the region had gone to fight to the so-called “special military operation”. According to the official, this demonstrates the exceptionally patriotic sentiments of the Arctic region’s population and their willingness to die in a foreign land for the “happy” existence of their families – a notion flavoured by the kremlin’s whims. The district has become the leading supplier of soldiers to the war against Ukraine compared to other federal subjects.

However, the official “forgot to mention” that the region has traditionally lagged behind in all-russian quality-of-life rankings (73rd place in 2025 and 77th – in 2024). According to research by russian scientists, nenets men are also at risk due to high mortality from external causes: alcohol poisoning, injuries sustained in fights, careless handling of fire, and so on. Besides, the region has serious employment problems.