Russians are prouder of the annexation of Crimea than they are of their nation’s achievements in space exploration, provided this year’s results of a Levada Center survey held annually since 1999.

In January 2017, victory in the Second World War (called the Great Patriotic War in Russia) retained its leading position as the proudest moment of the Russian people. This option was selected by 83 percent of respondents.

Second place – with support from 43 percent of respondents – was Russia’s annexation of Crimea. This item was introduced to the survey in 2017. Space exploration dropped downed to third place with 42 percent support from respondents. For comparison, space exploration garnered 60 percent support in 1999.

Further down in the rankings were Russian literature, industrialization during the Soviet era, the achievements of Russian scientific research, and the glory of Russian weapons.

When asked about what they are most ashamed of, most chose the option of “a great nation, a rich country, but [one who people] live in eternal poverty and instability.” In second place was the collapse of the USSR; in third place was “callousness and rudeness”.