At the beginning of 2026, Russians’ main fear was not drones or mobilization, but disruptions to messaging apps and the blocking of VPN services. This conclusion is included in a “fear index” published by Russian sociologists.
Internet restrictions and communication outages in major cities ranked first among public fears. Second and third place went to drone attacks and the so-called Epstein files. In the first case, people are concerned about infrastructure security and persistent flight delays. The Epstein topic, although seemingly distant from everyday life in Russia, prompted some members of society to reflect on how many similar closed communities of deviants might exist within Russia itself.
The top ten also included mass livestock culling in the Novosibirsk region, the closure of small businesses due to tax increases, and reports of flooding in the North Caucasus and the Volga region.
Rounding out the top ten were seasonal concerns: rumors of a new mobilization and increased tick activity. Notably, discussions about ticks proved more relevant to Russians than military conflicts in the Middle East.
The fact that the leading concern is not the front or an economic crisis, but internet restrictions, clearly reflects a society that has learned to look past the war it itself unleashed.
