Russians were Shocked by Ukrainian Advance into Kursk Oblast but Now Mostly have Taken It in Stride, Levada Center Head Says

Paul Goble

            Staunton, Oct. 2 – When Ukrainian forces began their intervention in Kursk Oblast in early August, Russians overwhelmingly were in a state of shock having convinced themselves that such an event was impossible given the pressure the Russian forces have put on Ukrainian forces inside Ukraine, Denis Volkov says.

            But in the weeks since, most Russians have come to terms with this Ukrainian military action and view it within the context of the broader fighting inside Ukraine rather than as a separate problem, the head of the independent Levada Center polling agency says (forbes.ru/mneniya/520270-privycnaa-trevoga-cto-dumaut-rossiane-o-nastuplenii-vsu-v-kurskoj-oblasti).

            That does not mean that Russians have accepted this Ukrainian action as a fait accompli. Rather, it is the product of Moscow propaganda and its insistence that Russia has everything in hand  and will soon expel the Ukrainian forces from Russian territory, Volkov says polling data show.

            There have been, however, two consequences of the Russian reaction to Kursk that have been less widely noted but may prove more important. On the one hand, there is no ever less talk about the possibility of any peace negotiations with Kyiv to end the war. And on the other, Russians have become more angry about social and economic problems.

            If the reasons for the first of these are obvious, those behind the second are less so, Volkov suggests. They involve increasing cynicism in the population about Russian government declarations and a sense that the war is likely to drag on for some time if Ukraine is able to mount such operations.