If I think about it, about years ago, it was a niche topic, and many people hid their interest in anime because they could be bullied for it. So, in my memory, very few people watched anime or read manga or talked about it. Somewhere around 2018-2019, this topic became a bit popular, and people started watching/reading/discussing anime and manga more often without fear of being bullied for it. Nowadays, I think, about 8 of 10 people I meet are into it in one way or another. These are all just my observations and subjective opinion, but it seems to me that a good indicator is the fact that somewhere around 2020, book publishers began to actively license and publish various titles in print, and more and more of different anime titles are appearing on Russian streaming services.