PROPA — Wave 1 (March 2024) — Data Package README
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Project
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Panel Study of Russian Public Opinion and Attitudes (PROPA)

This folder contains the Wave 1 dataset exported in two formats
(CSV and SPSS .sav) and the shared PROPA codebook.

Contents
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1) DiscussData-PROPA-PROPA_1_DiscussData.csv
   - Wave 1 data in comma-separated format (UTF-8).
   - Rows: 4,749 respondents
   - Columns: 66 variables

2) DiscussData-PROPA-PROPA_1_DiscussData.sav
   - Wave 1 data in SPSS format.
   - Includes value labels (where available).

3) DiscussData-PROPA-Codebook_DiscussData.pdf
   - Variable list, labels, value coding, and wave coverage notes.

Fieldwork window
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Wave 1 interviews in this dataset were completed between:
- 13 March 2024 and 21 March 2024 (based on the 'date' variable).

Sample and eligibility
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Mode: online survey.

Eligibility screening (Wave 1):
- Q01: consent to participate
- Q02: Russian citizenship
- Q03: physically located in Russia at the time of the survey
(See codebook for exact wording and coding.)

Key identifiers and structure
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- num: respondent identifier (internal)
- wave: wave number (all cases in this file are wave = 1)
- panel: panel membership indicator (see codebook)
- participated_1_wave ... participated_5_wave: participation flags across waves

Important variables (selected)
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Sociodemographics:
- Q1: gender
- Q2: age (years)
- Q3: region (subject of the Russian Federation)
- Q4: settlement type (city / urban-type settlement / rural)
- Q5: education
- Q6_w1: children (yes/no)
- Q7_w1: number of minor children
- Q12: main occupation
- Q13: purchasing power / household material situation

Economy:
- Q14: satisfaction with personal economic situation (1–5)
- Q15: satisfaction with economic situation in the country (1–5)

Politics and trust:
- Q17: interest in Russian politics
- Q18: frequency of political discussion
- Q19: trust in online news (Wave 1 wording differs; see codebook)
- Q20: trust in federal TV news (Wave 1 wording differs; see codebook)
- Q24: perceived likelihood of protests in region
- Q25: awareness of protests in region
- Q26_1 / Q26_2: perceived support for Putin in social circle / in Russia
- Q27_1_w1 / Q27_2_w1 / Q27_3_w1: approval of President / Government / State Duma
- Q28: trust in Russians who left after 24 Feb 2022

War-related items:
- Q30 / Q31 / Q32: count of supported policy decisions (Wave-specific versions; see codebook)
- Q33_w1: support for the military operation (binary)
- Q35_w1: support for Arctic development funding
- Q36: preference for continuing military action vs. peace negotiations (not asked in Wave 1; see codebook)
- Q37_*_w1: expectations about selected events in the next 12 months
- Q38_w1: approval of Vladimir Putin
- Q39: VPN use
- Q40: perceived safety of participating in war-related surveys

Media consumption:
- Q21_1 ... Q21_12: sources of information about Russian politics
- Q21_99: don't know
- Q21_11_TEXT: open-ended “other” source (text)

Missing values and special codes
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The dataset uses special numeric codes for non-substantive responses.
Common codes include:
- 99: "Don't know" / "Hard to answer" / refusal (varies by item)

Always consult the PDF codebook for item-specific missing value coding
and wave-specific wording differences.

Notes on comparability across waves
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Wave 1 contains several items with wording or coding that differs from later waves
(e.g., trust in media, approval items, war support wording). When conducting
longitudinal analysis, carefully harmonize variables using the codebook.

Contact
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Principal investigator:
Margarita Zavadskaya

(Use project documentation for the current official contact email.)

Last updated
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2026-02-20
