Sociological Survey «What is Lake Baikal for the Russians?»

Sociological Survey «What is Lake Baikal for the Russians?»

October, 2016

In October, 2016 Lake Baikal Foundation launched a complex sociological survey «What is Lake Baikal for the Russians?». To get most clear and objective picture while doing research on the lake, it is essential to know popular opinion on its problems. To this end, in partnership with Analytical Center NAFI the Foundation conducted a broad-scale opinion poll.

Goal:

  • to find out what people know about geographical disposition of lake Baikal, about its nature and environmental problems.

Targets:

  • to poll the people on the following issues: eco-education and eco-culture, attitude towards tourism, environmental agenda in the Baikal region as a whole;
  • to present survey’s results in federal media and in specialized government bodies.

 What was done:

  • the survey involved 2000 respondents in 42 regions of Russia.

 Results:

  • according to the poll, lake Baikal is the second popular landmark after the Kremlin, a hallmark of the country for Russian citizens; however, only a half of the respondents know where the lake is situated. Every fifth Russian (19%) views the Baikal as one of the most significant sites. 65% of Russian people said that they know where the Baikal is, but in fact only 51% of the respondents could actually tell that. Those who live in Siberian federal district know the answer better than others, 61% of them answered correctly;
  • the majority (62%) thinks that there is a big threat to lake Baikal and it is necessary to allocate funds for its protection;
  • the respondents also answered a question about what sites in Russia they would like to visit. More than a third of pollees (37%) said that they would like to visit the Baikal. The lake ranks third after the Crimea and St. Petersburg by popularity.

The details of the project in figures can be found in the presentation.



Partnership for Sustainable Development