The three-year war in Ukraine has improved the structure of Russian society and reduced social and income inequality, Russians believe for the first time ever, the state-owned Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VTsIOM) found in a recent survey.

“In recent years, there have been significant difficulties in assessing the just structure of the state,” Valery Fedorov, the director general of VTSIOM, said when presenting the results of the poll, TASS reports. “Most people used to believe that Russian society was rather unjust. In 2021, 62% of respondents shared this view, compared to 33% who believed we live in a fair society.”

Since the launch of Russia’s military campaign in Ukraine, attitudes have shifted partly thanks to the surge in state spending that has disproportionately benefited Russia’s poorest regions. In order to entice regular Russians to sign up for military service, average incomes have jumped and regional governments have been paying out enormous sign up bonuses that are several times higher than the average income. A study by the Bank of Finland institute for Emerging Economies (BOFIT) showed that regional retail deposits have grown fastest in Russia’s poorest regions.

At the same time, despite the high rates of inflation of about 10%, nominal wage increases have been rising even faster by around 12% a year, leading to a record growth in real disposable income that has fuelled a consumer boom in the last few years and created a new War Middle Class. Bank deposits and savings have swelled as a result.

“For the first time in the entire period of measurement, the shares have equalised,” Fedorov noted. “We see that already in 2024, roughly 46–47% of respondents considered the structure of Russian society fair. The number of those respondents was even slightly higher than those with opposing views. It appears to be a trend.”

Fedorov attributed the shift in perceptions to a reduction in economic inequality, rising wages and financial redistribution, alongside economic booms in certain regions, TASS reports.

“All these factors have contributed to more Russians believing that our society is moving toward greater justice,” he said.

Additionally, Russians are increasingly recognising state efforts to support social welfare, particularly in family policies. Russian President Vladimir Putin has been careful to invest into keeping his people happy. In his “guns and butter” speech to the six heads of Russia’s military districts last year, Putin stressed that investment must go into the civilian sector as well as defence. He has also constantly expanded the National Projects 2.1 programme that is designed to improve the quality of life for ordinary Russian in parallel to military spending.

“In December 2024, 64% of respondents acknowledged that even during the last year of hostilities, the state devoted more effort, time and funds to supporting fertility and helping families with children. This is worth a lot,” Fedorov said.

Russian ministries spent a record RUB3.31 trillion ($35bn) on national projects in 2024 with an implementation rate of 99.6% of the plan, Vedomosti reported on January 20.

According to preliminary data from the Ministry of Finance, the spending marks a consistent improvement in efficiency compared to 2023 (99.2%), 2022 (98.7%), 2021 (97.8%) and 2019 (91.4%), the first full year of implementation.

Several projects utilised their allocated funds in full:

• Demography – 100%
• Science and Universities – 100%
• Safe High-Quality Roads – 100%
• International Cooperation and Export – 100%
• Small and Medium Entrepreneurship and Support for Individual Entrepreneurial Initiatives – 99.7%
• Digital Economy of the Russian Federation – 99.7%
• Comprehensive Plan for Modernisation and Expansion of Transport Infrastructure – 99.6%
• Culture – 99.5%
• Housing and Urban Environment – 99.4%
• Labour Productivity – 99.2%
• Education – 99%

The biggest spend was on the popular "Financial Support for Families with the Birth of Children" programme that received RUB993.8bn ($11.2bn), up from RUB808.2bn in 2023. Demography has been one of the Kremlin’s most successful reform areas, although the population size continues to decline, as featured in bne IntelliNews’ Putin’s babies .

The only underperforming project was Unmanned Aircraft Systems, implemented at 97.4%. Introduced in 2024, this initiative has a funding commitment of RUB696bn through 2030.

VTsIOM’s findings are based on regular telephone surveys of 1,600 Russian respondents aged 18 and over. The shift in sentiment suggests that economic and social policies, combined with the broader geopolitical landscape, are reshaping public attitudes toward fairness in Russian society.