Since the very beginning of the Russian Federation’s invasion of Ukraine, the reaction of Russians themselves to the war has remained a central question. What do they think about the war? Why do people support it?
Opinion polls generally show that the majority of Russian citizens support Russian military actions in Ukraine. But social scientists have criticised these polls as unreliable. They point out that many of these surveys are run by polling companies loyal to the Russian state; that respondents in authoritarian regimes tend to choose answers that emphasise their loyal attitude towards the authorities; and that all polling companies, including independent organisations, face a high number of rejections when asking people to participate, which again biases the results towards respondents who support government policy.
Most importantly, opinion polls do not show how people who apparently support the Russian military’s ‘special operation’ in Ukraine think. Who are these people? What exactly do they support? What is the logic behind their thinking?
