The social network Odnoklassniki, together with the ResearchMe research center, conducted an online survey on how Russian Internet users celebrate Victory Day. The study involved 981 people over 18 years old, who shared how they would take to the streets of the city on May 9 and how they congratulate their friends and loved ones on the holiday.
54% said that they congratulate friends and loved ones in private messages, 48% send virtual gifts, 23% write congratulations in different groups and communities, 19% publish posts in their social media feed, and 15% use audio and video calls for congratulations. Only 9% of the respondents said that they did not congratulate anyone on Victory Day and did not celebrate this holiday in any way.
37% of respondents said during the survey that they are happy that this year they can join the holiday on the streets of their city. However, 19% noted that they are still afraid to participate in large events due to the pandemic. Another 27% of the respondents, according to them, traditionally celebrate the holiday at home, and 17% call May 9 “a quiet holiday and a day of remembrance.”
Victory Day is a great holiday, but everyone celebrates it in different ways. 49% of respondents said that they go out on this day to nature with friends and family, 26% participate in festive events in the city, and 17% visit memorials or museums dedicated to the memory of the heroes of the Great Patriotic War. It is curious that a quarter of the respondents (24%) prefer to celebrate this day quietly in a calm atmosphere.
More than half of the respondents (56%) on Victory Day read with interest publications about the heroes of Victory from friends and authors in the news feed, but a little less than a third of respondents (28%) share the stories of their loved ones. 17% of Runet users consider such posts by May 9 to be not entirely appropriate.
Users of the Odnoklassniki social network get many opportunities to congratulate loved ones and remember the participants in the war on Victory Day. Every year on the holidays on May 9, users send millions of virtual gifts, as well as congratulate them in person – using postcards and stickers in messages.