How emergency events change the lives of Russians: new challenges and the stability of adaptation

Based on the data from the Russian Longitudinal Monitoring Survey (RLMS-HSE), the peculiarities of Russians’ adaptation to the new social reality shaped by emergency events are analyzed. The main attention is paid to the dynamic analysis of the level and structural parameters of social well-being during the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus and the special military operation, which helps to expand the understanding of the peculiarities of modern adaptation processes. The presence or absence of difficulties of a certain complexity that arise during adaptation is considered as the most important determinant of the achievement of a specific level of adaptation. Research shows a high level of adaptation of Russians to the new reality. This effect was achieved due to the rapid pace of development of adaptive processes, which indicates a fairly high stability of adaptation of Russian citizens to emergency events. By the end of 2023, most respondents had maintained their way of life or returned to their usual way of life, while only one in five respondents had serious obstacles in directly adapting to changes caused by emergency events, which they overcame with great difficulty. Despite the severity of the problems, a clearly visible increase in respondents’ satisfaction with their lives and optimistic expectations regarding their personal and family future was recorded. However, a significant portion of Russians were subject to anxious moods caused by military and terrorist threats. This feeling of anxiety was connected, but very weakly, with satisfaction with their lives in general and their material side. An increase in generalized trust was revealed, which is the most important indicator of increased consolidation of Russian society, strengthening of civil and national identity as a response to new challenges.