Majority of Russians Really Tired of War but Expect It to Continue Anyway, ‘Novaya Gazeta’ Says

Paul Goble

            Staunton, Mar. 17 – Whenever any pollster has suggested that Russians are tired of war, the conflict’s supporters insist that isn’t the case because in their view those not involved at the frontlines or in regions subject to heavy attacks can place the blame for their tiredness on the war itself.

            But the Laboratory of the Future of Novaya Gazeta working with the Levada Center has now conducted a poll which makes such objections irrelevant. Its survey asked its representative sample what they think are the attitudes of other Russians to the war as well as what they personally feel (novayagazeta.ru/articles/2026/03/17/sindrom-khronicheskoi-voennoi-ustalosti).

            This sampling of Russian public opinion found that only nine percent feel that those around them are “enthusiastic” about the war, five percent say people are indifferent, while 73 percent say they are tired of the conflict. The remaining 14 percent say they find it difficult to answer that question.

            With regard to the first question, the paper says, “the ‘enthusiasm’ option was chosen most frequently by men, affluent individuals, Moscow residents, managers at various levels, and readers of newspapers and magazines.” The “indifferent” one was selected “most often by young people, students, entrepreneurs and residents of the Urals.”

            “’Fatigue,’ however was selected by practically all groups and demographics with remarkable uniformity,” Novaya Gazeta reports.

            Strikingly, it continues, “even among those who believe the country is currently moving in the right direction—and that Vladimir Putin is doing a good job—nearly two-thirds of respondents still selected the "fatigue" option.”

            Concerning how people themselves feel about the war, “the results turned out slightly different but on the whole they reflected the same overarching trend. Twenty-six percent chose the enthusiastic option, seven percent the “don’t care” one. But 52 percent chose the option which declared “’I am fed up with all of this.’”

            That confirms wat other polls have found, the paper says; and it shows that “people are weary, they desire peace negotiations but they don’t expect to be heard or anticipate that their aspirations will ever be realized.” Consequently, they are tired of what is going on and presumably will become even more tired the longer it does.