Always ready! On the eve of the start of the special operation, it was supported by half of the citizens of Russia

In connection with the conduct of the “special operation” of Russian troops in Ukraine, a discussion has again flared up about the attitude of Russians to the military actions of their state. The success of domestic propaganda in 2014, when the aggravation of relations between our countries began, was obvious. Then, the Agency for Social Research conducted a sociological survey of Russian citizens on a classic sample: phone calls and questions on the street.

So, to the question “Do you support the deployment of troops to Ukraine”, without explanations about Crimea, Donbass, Kiev, 56.8% answered “yes”, and only 19.6% answered “no”.

Moreover, in traditionally oppositional Moscow and St. Petersburg, the alignment was as follows: 51% - yes, 24% - no; 47% - yes, 31% - no.

To the second question: “Are you ready to be drafted into the troops to carry out such a mission or send your child to war?”

52% were ready to go themselves and send their children. In Moscow - a little less: 49.8%.

But the most interesting thing happened next. In response to a multi-choice question. “Which other country would you support the deployment of Russian troops to ensure the interests of the Russian Federation?”, the maximum number named the Baltic countries. Then came the US, Japan and Israel.

And to the question “Are you ready for sanctions (impossibility to travel abroad, shortage of foreign goods, economic difficulties) in case of active use of the armed forces by Russia?”, 50.4% in Russia and 45.2% in Moscow answered “yes”.

What about today? How have these numbers changed? Political scientist Maria Snegovaya cites a similar CNN poll published on February 23, 2022, that is, the day before the start of the special operation. When asked whether Russia is right in wanting to use military force to prevent Ukraine from joining NATO, half (!), i.e. 50%, answered positively, a quarter (25%) were not sure, and only a quarter (25%) actively opposed.

“It is clear that more polls are needed for in-depth analysis. But offhand, abstracting from the causes (state propaganda, authoritarianism, etc.), it turns out that in Russian society, about half of the population in the baseline scenario (without sanctions, victims, etc.) will support ANY aggression of the authorities. And somewhere else a quarter will be indifferent / undecided. Only a quarter will actively oppose it”, - concludes Snegovaya.