Three Quarters of Russians Who Back Putin on Ukraine Back Him on Everything But He Gets a Boost from Those who Don’t Back Him on Everything but Like His Anti-West Stance, Levinson Says

Paul Goble

            Staunton, Oct. 10 – Three quarters of Russians who tell pollsters that they back Putin on his war in Ukraine are people who back him on whatever he does, Aleksey Levinson says; but he gets an additional boost on the war from people who don’t support him on everything but do like his anti-Western stance.

            According to the Levada Center sociologist, those who had been critical of Putin earlier but now are supportive of him and his war in Ukraine and anti-Western stance are demographically more like those who have always supported him than those who still oppose him and the war (moscowtimes.ru/2023/10/09/obespokoennie-ili-portret-rossiyan-ne-odobryayuschih-deistviya-vladimira-putina-a109304).

            What this means, Levinson says, is that about two-thirds of the Russian population is firmly in Putin’s corner and can be counted on to support whatever he does, while a minority, about a fifth of the population in total, consists of people who approve his policies in Ukraine and his opposition to the West.

            The latter are those most affected by the regime’s war propaganda and thus provide yet another explanation for why the Kremlin has been ramping up this rhetoric. Doing so boosts support for the Kremlin leader and reduces opposition to him on other issues, the sociologist suggests.