The press release was prepared by Anton Hrushetskyi, executive director of KIIS

From September 30 to October 13, 2023, the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) conducted an all-Ukrainian public opinion survey "Omnibus", which included a question about the feasibility of criticizing possible wrong decisions of the authorities now. Bythemethodofcomputer-assistedtelephoneinterviews(CATI) based on a random sample of mobile phone numbers (with random generation of phone numbers and subsequent statistical weighting), 2,007 respondents living in all regions of Ukraine (except the AR of Crimea) were interviewed. The survey was conducted with adult (aged 18 and older) citizens of Ukraine who, at the time of the survey, lived on the territory of Ukraine (within the boundaries controlled by the authorities of Ukraine until February 24, 2022). Residents of temporarily occupied territories could not be included in the sample, and the survey was not conducted with citizens abroad.

Formally, under normal circumstances, the statistical error of such a sample (with a probability of 0.95 and taking into account the design effect of 1.1) did not exceed 2.4% for indicators close to 50%, 2.1% for indicators close to 25%, 1.5% - for indicators close to 10%, 1.1% - for indicators close to 5%.

Under conditions of war, in addition to the specified formal error, a certain systematic deviation is added. However, despite certain factors that may affect the quality of the results in "wartime" conditions, in general, we believe that the obtained results still retain a high degree of representativeness and allow a fairly reliable analysis of the public mood of the population.

Also, the press release compares the current mood of the population with the mood of the population as of May 2022 (according to the results of a survey conducted by KIIS on May 23-27, 2023 and in the framework of which 1,201 respondents were interviewed by the method of telephone interviews).

Among Ukrainians, there is an unconditional demand for unity and the avoidance of internal strife (in particular, that is why 81% of Ukrainians are against holding elections now). However, the question is open to what extent criticism of the government is permissible in wartime conditions - can constructive criticism take place, or are all disputes perceived as a weakening of the country? In May 2022 and again now, in October 2023, KIIS asked this question.

As can be seen, in May 2022 (at the beginning of the invasion), the majority of Ukrainians preferred to avoid any disputes at all. At that time, 68% believed that all disputes should be postponed, while 26% insisted on the admissibility of criticism.

Now, in October 2023, the situation became diametrically opposite: now 70% of Ukrainians consider it important to criticize possible wrong decisions of the authorities, while 25% insist on avoiding any disputes.

Graph 1. Also, some politicians, experts, and journalists believe that the government can make mistakes and act incorrectly on certain issues. Some believe that it is necessary to actively criticize such decisions, while others believe that it is not possible to start disputes at this time. And which point of view is closer to you?

 In all regions of Ukraine, the majority of the population believes that even now it makes sense to criticize possible erroneous and incorrect actions of the authorities.

Graph2. Is it appropriate now to criticize possible erroneous and incorrect actions of the authorities in the regional dimension

A. Hrushetskyi, comments on the survey results:

It is important to correctly analyze the given results in the context of other results of sociological surveys. Yes, criticism of the actions of the central government is indeed growing in Ukraine (now mainly in the form of criticism of the Parliament and the Government while maintaining high support and trust for the President) with a significantly expressed desire for "change". Obviously, the biggest factor behind such changes in mood, when 70% already consider criticism appropriate, is the issue of corruption, and Ukrainians do not want to keep it quiet. Along with this, as we showed earlier, 59% still see positive developments in the fight against corruption, and it is important for the authorities, the media and the public to properly communicate investigations, arrests, etc., so that the population really sees results and believes in an effective fight.

In addition, the request for unity retains its power, Ukrainians are against quarrels and conflicts. Certain criticism by the population does not lead to the desire for immediate changes through elections (according to the latest data from the KIIS - 81% are against holding elections). Victory remains the priority. Accordingly, this question reflects to a greater extent the expediency of constructive criticism of possible wrongful actions of the authorities. Ukrainians want constructive proposals that would correct existing mistakes and bring Ukraine closer to Victory.

Annex 1. Formulation of questions from the questionnaire

Also, some politicians, experts, and journalists believe that the government can make mistakes and act incorrectly on certain issues. Some believe that it is necessary to actively criticize such decisions, while others believe that it is not possible to start disputes at this time. And which point of view is closer to you?