58 percent of Russians support the invasion of Ukraine, and 23 percent oppose it, new poll shows

[watsup]

“About 58 percent of Russians approve of the invasion of Ukraine, while 23 percent oppose it, according to a poll conducted across Russia a week into Moscow’s full-scale assault.
The telephone survey, carried out last week by a group of independent survey research organizations, found relatively modest support for Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine compared with typical levels in the early stages of past incursions.

Gary Langer, a U.S.-based polling expert who runs a research firm, obtained the results of the study from the Russian research organizations and shared them with The Washington Post. He declined to name the Russian firms involved because of the risks they face as Moscow tightens censorship, but said he has partnered previously with the organizations, which he described as “strong, independent survey research firms.”

The national survey was conducted between Feb. 28 and March 1 among a random sample of 1,640 adults across the country. Participants were asked whether they support the Russian military operation on Ukrainian territory. The research firms released the full questionnaire and data set publicly.
About 46 percent of respondents said they firmly supported the action, and about 13 percent said they somewhat supported it.
Roughly 23 percent opposed the operation, and 13 percent had no opinion or declined to answer. About 6 percent said they were on the fence.
Among young people, support for the war is significantly lower, according to the study. In the 18-to-24 age group, 29 percent indicated they back the war, while 39 percent were opposed. Peak support for the war, at 75 percent, was among respondents age 66 and older.

The results are all the more striking given the dearth of reliable information inside Russia about the invasion and its bloody consequences, Langer said. The Kremlin and state media refer euphemistically to the attack on Ukraine as a “special military action” meant to “liberate” Ukrainians and “denazify” the country.

“Considering the government control of media and information in Russia, and the natural tendency of populations around the world to rally around their leadership in times of crisis, it is surprising to see this comparatively limited level of support for Putin and his government’s actions,” Langer said.”

For more info: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/03/08/russia-public-opinion-ukraine-invasion/

And there you have it. Except for the really old people, the citizens of Russia do NOT support this war, and most of them would be quite happy to see Putin disappear tomorrow.

 

[craig]

“About 58 percent of Russians approve of the invasion of Ukraine, while 23 percent oppose it, according to a poll conducted across Russia a week into Moscow’s full-scale assault.
The telephone survey, carried out last week by a group of independent survey research organizations, found relatively modest support for Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine compared with typical levels in the early stages of past incursions.

Gary Langer, a U.S.-based polling expert who runs a research firm, obtained the results of the study from the Russian research organizations and shared them with The Washington Post. He declined to name the Russian firms involved because of the risks they face as Moscow tightens censorship, but said he has partnered previously with the organizations, which he described as “strong, independent survey research firms.”

The national survey was conducted between Feb. 28 and March 1 among a random sample of 1,640 adults across the country. Participants were asked whether they support the Russian military operation on Ukrainian territory. The research firms released the full questionnaire and data set publicly.
About 46 percent of respondents said they firmly supported the action, and about 13 percent said they somewhat supported it.
Roughly 23 percent opposed the operation, and 13 percent had no opinion or declined to answer. About 6 percent said they were on the fence.
Among young people, support for the war is significantly lower, according to the study. In the 18-to-24 age group, 29 percent indicated they back the war, while 39 percent were opposed. Peak support for the war, at 75 percent, was among respondents age 66 and older.

The results are all the more striking given the dearth of reliable information inside Russia about the invasion and its bloody consequences, Langer said. The Kremlin and state media refer euphemistically to the attack on Ukraine as a “special military action” meant to “liberate” Ukrainians and “denazify” the country.

“Considering the government control of media and information in Russia, and the natural tendency of populations around the world to rally around their leadership in times of crisis, it is surprising to see this comparatively limited level of support for Putin and his government’s actions,” Langer said.”

For more info: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/03/08/russia-public-opinion-ukraine-invasion/

And there you have it. Except for the really old people, the citizens of Russia do NOT support this war, and most of them would be quite happy to see Putin disappear tomorrow.

I think that poll must be very accurate. People can only respond to what they know.

 

[watsup]

58% approval is nothing. You know that a significant number of those people are lying because they are afraid that they are being monitored by Putin’s thugs. The actual approval is no doubt UNDER 50%—less than half of the Russians in support of the war. And there are a bunch of them, if they could get close enough, Putin would be no more.

 

[watsup]

I think that poll must be very accurate. People can only respond to what they know.

And if they knew all of the truth about Putin’s murderous war, the approval would be much less. That’s why he shut down all independent media in the country.

 

[justoneman]

58% approval is nothing. You know that a significant number of those people are lying because they are afraid that they are being monitored by Putin’s thugs. The actual approval is no doubt UNDER 50%—less than half of the Russians in support of the war. And there are a bunch of them, if they could get close enough, Putin would be no more.

No I think the poll is about right. Its mostly the former soviet union people. the 40 and over crowd.

 

[Antiwar]

What's the point? If 50% of the lowly citizens of any militaristic nation disapproved of their government's warring, would their government stop warring? Especially a government that's said to be authoritarian?

 

[Chomsky]

That's not much support.

Give it another month, if they last, and see the numbers then.

 

[watsup]

What's the point? If 50% of the lowly citizens of any militaristic nation disapproved of their government's warring, would their government stop warring? Especially a government that's said to be authoritarian?

It shows that the old guard is on the way out. Maybe not real soon, but the trend is clear. The younger people of Russia are not happy with the old ways.

 

[Antiwar]

It shows that the old guard is on the way out. Maybe not real soon, but the trend is clear. The younger people of Russia are not happy with the old ways.

Okay.

But lowly citizens, especially younger ones, don't run countries.

 

[watsup]

Okay.

But lowly citizens, especially younger ones, don't run countries.

They will eventually. What we are seeing is Putin’s last gap at keeping Russia in the past.

 

[Checkerboard Strangler]

Face facts, Ukrainians have gigantic balls.

 

[maxparrish]

“About 58 percent of Russians approve of the invasion of Ukraine, while 23 percent oppose it, according to a poll conducted across Russia a week into Moscow’s full-scale assault.
The telephone survey, carried out last week by a group of independent survey research organizations, found relatively modest support for Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine compared with typical levels in the early stages of past incursions.
...
About 46 percent of respondents said they firmly supported the action, and about 13 percent said they somewhat supported it/

Roughly 23 percent opposed the operation, and 13 percent had no opinion or declined to answer. About 6 percent said they were on the fence.
Among young people, support for the war is significantly lower, according to the study. In the 18-to-24 age group, 29 percent indicated they back the war, while 39 percent were opposed. Peak support for the war, at 75 percent, was among respondents age 66 and older.

I'm not nearly as buoyed by these results as some other posters are. Remember, this the population that also learned to read between the lines of official propaganda to find what was really happening in the world, and passed around tattered copies of Samizdat. That population managed to keep informed sufficiently to know they didn't want anymore communism. Hell, as recently as 2011 (as I recall) they had serious demonstrations against Putin's third term in the "snow revolution".

There was more than enough open and independent press for years before this invasion to know it was bogus. The bottom line is that 46 percent of Russia are hard core Russian fascist; they, like those who supported German hyper nationalism in the 1930s, are convinced that (in the words of one voter) "all we have is Putin...we need him".

As I have always said on this board, for many years, the Russian is incapable of real democracy. Yes, 1/4 of Russians might be, but twice as many cannot grasp liberty, independent courts, and human rights. It's beyond their biological wiring.

 

[maxparrish]

Face facts, Ukrainians have gigantic balls.

They are freaking crazy. I don't care how much I hated the occupiers I wouldn't dare advance on these soldiers...they just kept making small steps forward into guns aimed right at them...

 

[Checkerboard Strangler]

They are freaking crazy. I don't care how much I hated the occupiers I wouldn't dare advance on these soldiers...they just kept making small steps forward into guns aimed right at them...

How WE need to remember ourselves.
And I mean that in the best light possible.
We're supposed to know this instinctively.

No telling what you might do if you're among a group of people that all respect each other at least at the base level, enough to
count on each other's support when it's needed.
I'm an old man now, I'm no longer fit and trim enough to act like I have swagger.
But what I do have in place of that is a rather fatalistic acceptance of my own advancing age and mortality.
The ground got softened for a few years, to make it fertile for a sort of "sectarian violence" culture.

It's no longer about calling each other names or wisecracks about different political value systems.
The tone began to harden in the 1990's and in the last five or six years it has turned into downright calls for and threats of war.
Hand in hand with that goes the dehumanization playbook, which softens the ground even more, reducing anyone outside the aggressor
own circle to less than human status and thus fair game for whatever a despot calls for.

Believe absurdities today, commit atrocities tomorrow...the Ukrainians are nazis, the Californians are communists, Democrats eat babies,
the list is endless and the aim is single in focus, delegitimize the other side to the point of deserving destruction.
The target around the world is democracy now, it's global.

That appears to be Ukraine's biggest sin, daring to appreciate their fledgling democracy, no matter how young, no matter how imperfect,
they dared to believe in it, warts and all.
And that is a threat to their neighbor to the East, who uses the same playbook we've been hearing for the better part of a decade.
Fine tuning the rhetoric for local relevance is knob twiddling, nothing more.

Same methodology, same benefactors, same beneficiaries.
...NOT US.
Not even the ones who THINK backing fascism is the winning side.
Once they're no longer useful their position and status in what's coming is questionable, they were witnesses to the crime
and therefore must be gotten rid of.

 

[RAMOSS]

I think that poll must be very accurate. People can only respond to what they know.

ANd do you expect Russians to freely say their opinion on a poll ? I would think they would be afraid to 'disappear' after they did that.

 

[MamboDervish]

And there you have it. Except for the really old people, the citizens of Russia do NOT support this war, and most of them would be quite happy to see Putin disappear tomorrow.

As an abstract, the polling numbers have about as much significance as polling Ukrainians how they feel about the Russian invasion. We can assume 97% oppose it, and that number will have just as much impact on Putin as the Russian numbers in the OP.

It's fascinating that not only were Putin's actions quite predictable, but that Russia's embarrassing military failure was as well. Here's a brief exposition from a Russian journalist, Aleksandr Nevzorov, nearly a year ago, describing Russia's war with Ukraine as "inevitable". He elaborates in the most off-handed way exactly the kind of catastrophe the Russian army is in for, and peppers his main course with allusions to Russian military high command drinking heavily at least three times in his speech. The clarity of his predictions are almost eerie.

 

[maxparrish]

As an abstract, the polling numbers have about as much significance as polling Ukrainians how they feel about the Russian invasion. We can assume 97% oppose it, and that number will have just as much impact on Putin as the Russian numbers in the OP.

It's fascinating that not only were Putin's actions quite predictable, but that Russia's embarrassing military failure was as well. Here's a brief exposition from a Russian journalist, Aleksandr Nevzorov, nearly a year ago, describing Russia's war with Ukraine as "inevitable". He elaborates in the most off-handed way exactly the kind of catastrophe the Russian army is in for, and peppers his main course with allusions to Russian military high command drinking heavily at least three times in his speech. The clarity of his predictions are almost eerie.

This fellow had unreal insight into a reality that almost no one in Russia or the West grasped. He knew the military was poorly led, the Ukrainians would be fierce, that conscripts would be lost, etc. It's all true...troops were actually selling fuel from their vehicles and tanks to Ukrainian civilians. The few things that haven't come true...yet...is a breakout from Kiev towards Moscow. He knows how rotted the Russian army is with corruption and incompetence.

And in theory he is right. Were the Germans and Japanese of their prior character...the Kuriles issue would be settled by Japanese landings and Kalin grad would be toast.

 

[Sweden]

ANd do you expect Russians to freely say their opinion on a poll ? I would think they would be afraid to 'disappear' after they did that.

Indeed. I'm Russian. A voice on my phone asks "Do you support our country and our president?" Being old enough to remember the USSR and the Gulags and still with the remanents of my wits I'm not going yo say NO!, am I?

 

[snakestretcher]

I'm not nearly as buoyed by these results as some other posters are. Remember, this the population that also learned to read between the lines of official propaganda to find what was really happening in the world, and passed around tattered copies of Samizdat. That population managed to keep informed sufficiently to know they didn't want anymore communism. Hell, as recently as 2011 (as I recall) they had serious demonstrations against Putin's third term in the "snow revolution".

There was more than enough open and independent press for years before this invasion to know it was bogus. The bottom line is that 46 percent of Russia are hard core Russian fascist; they, like those who supported German hyper nationalism in the 1930s, are convinced that (in the words of one voter) "all we have is Putin...we need him".

As I have always said on this board, for many years, the Russian is incapable of real democracy. Yes, 1/4 of Russians might be, but twice as many cannot grasp liberty, independent courts, and human rights. It's beyond their biological wiring.

This is grossly unfair. If Russian citizens have never known true democracy etc., it is the fault of their leaders, not the populace.

 

[oneworld2]

And if they knew all of the truth about Putin’s murderous war, the approval would be much less. That’s why he shut down all independent media in the country.

So has Zelensky and so did the West wrt many of the Russian news outlets. That's what happens when wars break out and the narrative has to be controlled

 

[Fledermaus]

So has Zelensky and so did the West wrt many of the Russian news outlets. That's what happens when wars break out and the narrative has to be controlled

Whataboutism

Very Soviet of you.

 

[oneworld2]

I'm not nearly as buoyed by these results as some other posters are. Remember, this the population that also learned to read between the lines of official propaganda to find what was really happening in the world, and passed around tattered copies of Samizdat. That population managed to keep informed sufficiently to know they didn't want anymore communism. Hell, as recently as 2011 (as I recall) they had serious demonstrations against Putin's third term in the "snow revolution".

There was more than enough open and independent press for years before this invasion to know it was bogus. The bottom line is that 46 percent of Russia are hard core Russian fascist; they, like those who supported German hyper nationalism in the 1930s, are convinced that (in the words of one voter) "all we have is Putin...we need him".

As I have always said on this board, for many years, the Russian is incapable of real democracy. Yes, 1/4 of Russians might be, but twice as many cannot grasp liberty, independent courts, and human rights. It's beyond their biological wiring.

Wow racism 101 and unhidden this time

Your commentary is based, as I have always noticed, on a deep seated racism/xenophobia against Russians. Not even the Russian leaderships but the Russians as people. My anti US bias at least spares a blanket assassination of the people themselves

 

[oneworld2]

Whataboutism

Very Soviet of you.

Yeah, being balanced really troubles many folk here

 

[Fledermaus]

Yeah, being balanced really troubles many folk here

You have been anti West for a long, long time.

Don't talk about "balanced".

 

[Yakshi]

Many Russians don't respond honestly to polls. Far easier for them to say я за путина and go on with their day.