Since Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine, many people have asked a fundamental question: what do ordinary Russians really think about the war?
My colleagues and I at the Public Sociology Laboratory, an independent research initiative, have carried out more than 200 in-depth interviews with Russians since 27 February.
Our research suggests Russian society remains divided – and that many people remain unsure about the war and its motivations. The people we sampled tended to be more educated and to live in big cities, but the findings reflect tendencies seen in wider opinion surveys: supporters of the war are, as a rule, older than opponents.
