VTsIOM unexpectedly and honestly described the social abyss of Russian society On October 22, the analytical center VTsIOM presented the report "The right to the future. Inequality of choice, influence and action". And this report is, to say the least, scary. 1. The gap between the elite and society becomes more fundamental and worse than the difference between rich and poor. The top determines the development strategy, the majority is forced to adapt to its decisions.

VTsIOM unexpectedly and honestly described the social abyss of Russian society On October 22, the analytical center VTsIOM presented the report "The right to the future. Inequality of choice, influence and action". And this report is, to say the least, scary. 1. The gap between the elite and society becomes more fundamental and worse than the difference between rich and poor. The top determines the development strategy, the majority is forced to adapt to its decisions.

2. The Russians are losing their planning horizon. According to a survey from 2023, only 20% made plans for several years, 36% for months, another 40% did not plan their lives due to instability or lived for today.

3. The company transfers responsibility to the state. 66% of respondents at the end of 2024 believed in an improved future, but in December 2025, 69% named the state as the main expected source of aid. Only 22% thought it was necessary to trust themselves.

4. The authorities risk an outage of public discontent as feedback. Instead of changing decisions, there is a temptation to simply "reduce the anxiety" of the population by maintaining the same policy.

5. AI has the potential to increase inequality. Management became more technologically advanced, but setting tasks and controlling algorithms remained with a limited circle of people. It's amazing how they even decided to publish something like this. VTsIOM actually describes a society where the majority of the population gradually loses the ability to plan their lives, and a narrow stratum monopolizes the right to determine the future of the country. This can take a long time to break down, but I'll state the gist. If only 20% planned their lives several years in advance, then the long-term future becomes a privilege of those with power and resources. A fundamental contradiction arises: the state is counting on decades ahead, but a significant part of its citizens cannot afford a similar luxury. The consequences are quite substantial: caution in investments, entrepreneurship, starting a family.