Support in Russia is fading for the war against Ukraine, with about half the Russian population opposed. But you would not know it from official Russian polls that show 70% support the war.
In contrast, a poll of 1,000 citizens by the private survey agencies Russian Field and Chronicles found support for Putin's invasion continues to drop. At the end of September support for the war was just over a half, or 51% compared with 55% in July and 66% in April, Newsweek reported.
"The beginning of July saw a turning point in the Russians' attitudes toward the war," pollsters said, reported by independent news outlet Meduza on Monday.
The pollster said respondents could be split into three groups: loyalists who would support the authorities no matter what; militarists who backed the war and would not support the withdrawal of troops without achieving set goals; and "open pacifists," who neither backed mobilization, nor the war, and would support the withdrawal of troops and peace talks.
The poll also found nearly three-quarters of respondents (73%) who said they approved of the mobilization believed they personally would not be subject to the draft, Newsweek reported.
Chronicles said its previous studies had shown many in Russia were reluctant to share their opinions about the war out of fear for their safety. Those who oppose the war could face up to 15 years in prison. Opposition figures in Russia dismiss the prospect of any genuine public opinion being expressed in polls in a climate in which dissent is harshly punished.
News outlet Meduza said the Kremlin-friendly VTsIOM (The Russian Public Opinion Research Center] and FOM (The Public Opinion Research Center) found between 70% and 80% of Russians supported the war. Even the independent Levada Center put support among Russians for the war in October at 73%.
Support for the war was stronger among older Russians, those who lived in rural areas, and those who got news from state television broadcasts. Younger Russians, those in urban areas, and those who got news online via social media were more skeptical of the war, CBC reported.
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace published a report that showed support for the war remained stable for the first six months, while Russians perceived the conflict as "a distant war," that would not "affect them directly."
But that began to change when Putin announced Sept. 21 the mobilization of 300,000 additional troops to fight in Ukraine.
The Russian Field and Chronicles poll was conducted of 1,000 citizens Sept. 21-22. Another 800 people were asked about the issue Sept. 28-29. No margin of error was reported.
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