The Middle Ages Returning: russians Understand Science Less and Less and Believe in Mermaids More and More

Every tenth russian is convinced that the Sun revolves around the Earth. Nearly half do not understand how antibiotics work. Meanwhile, demand for aspen stakes has risen by 300% over the past year.

A study by the higher school of economics, published in the statistical yearbook “Science Indicators”, documents a consistent and accelerating shift in public consciousness away from basic scientific concepts. The picture painted by the survey resembles not so much a country with a nuclear arsenal and a space program as a society sinking into pre-scientific thinking.

10% of russian citizens believe that the Sun revolves around the Earth – and this figure has risen by 3% over the past three years. 18% are unaware of continental drift. About 30% do not understand the relative sizes of an electron and an atom. 43% are convinced that radiation is a phenomenon of exclusively anthropogenic origin that did not exist before human activity.

The situation is worst in medicine. The proportion of those who believe antibiotics are effective against viruses rose from 28% in 2011 to 49% in 2023–2024. In parallel, misconceptions about genetics are spreading: while in 2011, 29% of russians believed that genes are found only in genetically modified vegetables and not in regular ones, now 40% hold this view.

At this, science is losing its social authority. The share of those who consider scientific knowledge necessary in everyday life has fallen from 43% in 2014 to 35% in 2023–2024. The number of those who consider it unnecessary has risen from 51% to 58%.

This spiritual vacuum is being filled by mysticism. About two-thirds of russians believe in the existence of numina and saints. Most believe in spirits and guardian deities. One in two believes in house spirits and clairvoyants. Every third believes in forest spirits, and every fifth – in mermaids. Over a third has experience with fortune-telling, one in four uses amulets and talismans, and one in seven has consulted healers or priests.

The market has responded to this demand more sensitively than any government program. In 2025, demand for esoteric goods grew by 50% year-on-year. Amulets more than doubled in price – a 120% increase. But aspen stakes set the record: interest in them surged by 300%.