23% of Russians are convinced that the coronavirus epidemic is fiction

This follows from the results of a study by the Directorate for Expert and Analytical Work of the Higher School of Economics (HSE), which RBC cites.

32.3% of respondents said that there is no epidemic - it is only “an invention of interested persons”. 9.6% believe that the danger is exaggerated. 35.6% of respondents still expect the peak of the epidemic, and 16.3% believe that it has already passed.

The Southern Federal District has the most respondents who are sure that a pandemic has been invented. Of these, according to the study, 42.7% . At the same time, half of the respondents from the Southern Federal District lost their income in full or noted a significant reduction during the epidemic.

The authors of the study noted that the behavior of citizens who consider the pandemic a fabrication is fundamentally different from the behavior of those who recognize the fact of the epidemic. 43% of skeptics continue to visit relatives, and 54% go for walks on the street. 74.22% believe that it was possible not to introduce a regime of self-isolation, since it was not necessary.

At the same time, of those who do not doubt the pandemic, only 18% visit relatives. Less than 12% continue to meet friends. And only 10% doubt the need for a self-isolation regime.

It is noted that the number of respondents who do not agree with the need for a self-isolation regime increased from 15.9% in early April to 32.4% by the end of May. And the share of those who agree to more stringent restrictions remained at the level of 18% . Removal of quarantine measures is supported by 56% . 35.6% of them are sure that this could be done earlier.

As for the incomes of Russians during the coronavirus pandemic, at the beginning of the epidemic, 59.4% of citizens said that they remained at the same level. However, the share of those who noted a decrease in income is quite high - 31.8% . But Russians completely lost their incomes as well - this figure fell from April 23.7% to 13.5% in May.

Recall that one in six Russians regularly violates the regime of self-isolation. Senior citizens observe restrictions more correctly than all - about 92% adhere to the introduced regime. And young people 18-30 years old more often than others ignore self-isolation.

At the same time, a third of citizens are confident that during the pandemic, the level of trust in each other has become significantly lower.