the Russians were worried about the Wagnerites, saboteurs and rioters

In the second quarter of 2023, Russians were most publicly worried about the mutiny of PMC “Wagner”, which was sabotaged, burned and flooded. This was clarified by the communication agency KROS, which analyzed the agendas of mass media and social media.

Discussing the rebellion of the Wagnerites under the leadership of Yevgeny Prigozhin, users of social networks and blog platforms feared that the situation might get out of control of the authorities and end in a civil war. After the riot, conspiracist versions of what happened continued to spread on social networks, which also fueled alarm.

The main event that created anxiety among Russians due to sabotage was the drone attack on Moscow on May 30. Then the drones crashed into several high-rise buildings in the capital, and several more were shot down in the Moscow region.

The third topic according to the total index of anxiety in mass media and social media was natural disasters. Large fires are taking place in the Urals and Siberia – dozens of people have already died, the fire has destroyed hundreds of houses.

At the same time, the map of the intensity of anxiety in social media does not coincide with the map in mass media. Thus, the greatest response in social networks was the rebellion of the Wagnerites: the level of anxiety there was almost 4.7 times higher than in the mass media. Also, social media users were more worried about the invasion of silkworms, attacked by stray dogs, poisoned by food and alcohol.

At the same time, the mass media were more concerned about the nuclear threat, natural disasters, and the “undermining of Russian sports.”

Compared to the first quarter of 2023, Russians continue to be actively worried about sabotage and the war in Ukraine. At the same time, fears of mobilization halved, and worries about rising prices and a shortage of spare parts fell off the top altogether.