The Rise of Materialist Values during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Russia: Evidence from the Values in Crisis Data

Abstract This article aims to identify the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on value change in Russia. I focus on evolution of materialist and postmaterialist values among Russians and suppose that the pandemic could lead to increase in materialist attitudes and decrease in postmaterialist ones. Using four panel waves of the international longitudinal survey “Values in Crisis” and running a series of panel and logistic regressions, together with mediation analysis, I prove these assumptions, and also test causal mechanisms – ‘health risk perception hypothesis’ and ‘political hypothesis’, which highlight different aspects of the government’s role in fighting the pandemic. If the state is regarded as the “last hope defender” against the virus, the rise of materialist values is not surprising. I reveal positive association and causal link between materialism and pro-statist attitudes. Another finding is non-linear effect of age: younger cohorts are more postmaterialistic, but the oldest one is not the most materialistic.