35% of Russians are convinced that the Sun revolves around the Earth, says VTsIOM August 2, 2022 – Life – St. Petersburg News

Every third inhabitant of Russia (35%) believes that the Sun revolves around the Earth. This was reported on August 2 by the All-Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VTsIOM).

The center’s new survey focused on scientific misconceptions. According to the results, every fifth inhabitant of the country (21%) believes that primitive people lived at the same time as dinosaurs, and 44% Russians believe that GMO foods can cause cancer. The radiation claim caused less embarrassment for the survey participants. With the fact that radioactive milk will become safe after boiling, agreed 7% respondents.

“Although a significant part of Russians continue to be mistaken about the rotation of the Sun around the Earth, the share of those who give incorrect answers has decreased for the rest of the misconceptions presented, that is, the general level of scientific literacy of the population is gradually increasing,” says VTsIOM.

As the center notes, Russians with a low level of scientific literacy are characterized by older age, active viewing of television content, living in the countryside and education at the secondary level and below. Most of the correct answers were given by young participants (“61% among 18–24-year-olds gave five or more correct answers”). Among other distinguishing features of the group with a high level of scientific literacy are Internet consumption, higher education, residence in Moscow, St. Petersburg and the Northwestern Federal District.

In total, 1.6 thousand Russian residents aged 18 and over took part in the survey.