Russia's 'happiness index' hits its lowest level in 15 years, intelligence says
Public sentiment in Russia is deteriorating rapidly. The country’s "happiness index" fell by nine points in just one month, reaching its lowest level since 2011, according to Ukraine’s Foreign Intelligence Service.
Another figure also proved telling: the share of Russians who consider themselves unequivocally unhappy rose to 9%, one of the worst results recorded over the entire period of measurement.
Ukraine’s Foreign Intelligence Service says public sentiment is being affected by a combination of problems, including the overall situation in the country, the policies of the Russian authorities, the war against Ukraine and numerous local issues.
Russian officials, however, appear to have their own definition of what can be considered happiness. One telling example came from Irina Gekht, the governor of Russia’s Nenets Autonomous Okrug, during a meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
She proudly reported that one in every ten residents of the region had gone to fight against Ukraine. According to the official, this reflects the population’s strong patriotic sentiment.
The Nenets Autonomous Okrug has indeed become one of Russia’s leading regions in terms of the number of people sent to fight in the war against Ukraine.
However, there is another side to those figures. The region has traditionally ranked poorly in quality-of-life ratings (73rd place in 2025 and 77th in 2024).
The region also faces problems that directly affect people’s lives. Russian researchers point, among other things, to a high rate of male deaths from external causes, including alcohol poisoning, injuries sustained in fights, and careless handling of fire.
Meanwhile, the Russian military continues to face problems on the battlefield. The Russian command has already set 15 deadlines for the complete capture of the Donetsk region, but Russian forces have failed to meet any of them.
The Kremlin has now set another deadline: December 31, 2026. According to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), this target is also disconnected from the realities on the battlefield, as Russian forces are unlikely to capture the entire Donbas by the end of the year.
