Current Events > 76% of Russians over 45 still approve of Putin's decision to go to war.

(+) Yeah! (+)

After nine months of war in Ukraine, fewer and fewer Russians believe Putin did the right thing by starting the conflict 60% as of Nov. 17. This is still a majority, but its at its lowest level in six months and has dropped 10 percentage points since spring.

Age appears to be a major factor in the responses. In the 18- to 45-year-old category, about 40% of respondents said they think it was right to start the war. Younger respondents, who make up a quarter of the population and generally get their information from the internet, account for most of the overall drop in support for the war since the start of the fighting.

In the older age group (over 45), 76% approve of Putin's decision to go to war. Although this is also the lowest level of approval since spring, there have been no dramatic changes.

Another interesting nuance is that, among younger people, there has been a sharp increase in the number of respondents replying "unsure" now at 36%. This might be a way to avoid answering the question, according to Yekaterina Schulmann, a political scientist and researcher at the Robert Bosch Academy in Berlin. "Its possible that a respondent thinks the answer he wants to give is the wrong one, so he doesnt give it, she said.

Yudin attributed the rising number of unsure responses to Russias partial mobilization announced in September. "People are terribly afraid. They suspect that the polls are being conducted by the state and that they are being observed, he said.

Paradoxically, despite more and more people believing the war should never have been started, the share of those who support a continuation of the war has been growing. As of Nov. 17, 67% supported continuing the fight. And only 18% of respondents would like the authorities to end the war the lowest number in six months.

This apparent rise in militarism is seen among both younger and older respondents.

We spoke to several leading experts to try and explain this contradiction. According to Schulmann, people are taking a "we shouldn't have started it, but we must go on" attitude because they realize Russia is losing. The notion of defeat leads people to the conclusion that the military operation must not end now We cant leave when were losing. People are afraid of the consequences of military defeat, Schulmann said.

Expert Yudin suggested that a shift in Russias propaganda output was the cause. "Recently, propagandists have been pushing the idea that it isnt so important if it was right or wrong for Russia to start all this. But now its allegedly clear that Russia is fighting against NATO, and Russia will be crushed if it doesnt win," he said.

Denis Volkov, director of the Levada Center, said sociologists observed a similar phenomenon in 2014 when Russia annexed Crimea and started a conflict in eastern Ukraine.

"This is a typical sort of logic, he said. Was it worth it? Probably not, because the cost of it is going up, including the cost for people personally. But since we got ourselves in this mess, we might as well keep going.

However, Volkov points out that, when respondents are offered an alternative like peace talks (such as in Levada Center polls), a growing number of people choose this option. "The general mood is to end everything quickly, but without major concessions," Volkov said, adding that support for negotiations grew after mobilization.

A similar trend is shown in a confidential poll conducted by the Federal Guard Service (FSO) that was published last month by Meduza.

"People are anxious. They don't understand what a victory in this war will look like and when it will come," said one government official who spoke to us after seeing the polling results.

The final question regularly asked by these polls is whether respondents believe the military operation in Ukraine is going according to plan.

Since the summer, the number of people who believe the war is not going to plan has been growing steadily. According to the latest data, this recently reached its highest level: 42%. At the same time, the number of respondents who believe the war is going as planned has been trending downward. The latest figure in November is the lowest ever just 22%.

Both younger and older generations are generally in agreement on this question. But, among Russians aged 18-45, there was a noticeable surge in awareness of military failures after the announcement of mobilization.

The surrender of Kherson and other military defeats amid the successful counteroffensive conducted by the Ukrainian Armed Forces have not had a serious impact on people's opinions, but they have created a negative background, Levada Centers Volkov said.

"There is a growing number of people who believe the war is not going well, but when you ask why, their first response is that it has dragged on [too long], which means that things have not gone according to plan. The second most popular answer is the declaration of mobilization, which means the professional military is failing, Volkov said.

Growing frustration among young people is why the authorities probably wont attempt a second major mobilization, according to Schulmann. "The mobilization caused panic and stirred everyone up. People were greatly relieved when the mobilization drive ended, and the system in Russia is aimed at ensuring its own survival, she said.

When we spoke to officials who were involved in organizing the mobilization, they said they also doubted that Putin would officially announce a second wave of call-ups.

Overall, the data from these secret Kremlin polls suggests that people remain more or less loyal to the authorities.

These polls reflect Russian society as inert and frightened; a country with a broken back, said Schulmann. This is not bad news for the authoritarian political model since you can do anything with citizens like this everything except mobilize.

Full Article: https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2022/12/06/what-secret-russian-state-polling-tells-us-about-support-for-the-war-a79596

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/9/0/5/AAZiH8AAELjh.jpg

The researchers say the internet is why the younger population is less supportive

But i'm not sure if it's that for the fact it's not the over 45s who are dying by the thousands

There's often support for war among those who are comfortably distant from it. And among those whose sense of "national pride" holds that if thousands of lives have been wasted, you need to waste thousands more just to prove that wasting them was the right thing to do.

Although to be honest, if your country launches an unjust war then you should be condemning it even if your side hasn't lost a single soldier.

That's why I can't defend the Russian people they are complacent

So their older generation is about as out of touch as ours, with blind patriotism or whatever they call it over there. Droves of people who have just bought into all of the bullshit spewed out by their government during their entire lives. I bet a lot legitimately believe Ukraine is a "nazi threat" like some people here believe all gays are groomers.

Putin really has his fingers wrapped around them like Kim Jung in has with his.

the older generations remembers the soviet union. in their opinion, they're in a vastly better situation than they were back then. and they might be right, in some sense.

but the younger generation, who didn't live in that era, realizes how bs everything is. they're also the most in touch with the rest of the world, which makes them incredibly more aware. so yeah, it makes sense.

Arcanine2009 posted...

Putin really has his fingers wrapped around them like Kim Jung in has with his.

Putin is also surrounded by cronies

It won't die with him, his successor will be awful too

Kind of a misleading topic title, as it's 76% of the older generation, but 60% of Russians in general who support Putin's decision to go to war/start the conflict.

Fuck the majority of the Russian people.

And they totally won't put you in jail for 15 years if you said you disapprove when responding to the survey.

Aressar posted...

Kind of a misleading topic title, as it's 76% of the older generation, but 60% of Russians in general who support Putin's decision to go to war/start the conflict.

How is that misleading?

GuerrillaSoldier posted...

the older generations remembers the soviet union. in their opinion, they're in a vastly better situation than they were back then. and they might be right, in some sense.

If you watch Russian interview channels like 1420, a lot of the old people also point out how much better Putin is then Yeltsin.

I hate Putin as much as the next guy, but considering that Yeltsin was a drunken stooge who destroyed their economy, I can almost see why a lot of Russians think Putin is a good thing.

GuerrillaSoldier posted...

the older generations remembers the soviet union. in their opinion, they're in a vastly better situation than they were back then. and they might be right, in some sense.

That's not actually true. Russia's economy went into a nose-dive after the breakup of the USSR, and polls have consistently shown both that a majority of Russians regret its fall, and that the largest bloc of this regret comes from the older generations.

This poll is from 2018, for example.
https://www.levada.ru/2018/12/19/nostalgiya-po-sssr-2/

The link is in Russian, but this is the relevant chart. It translates to "Index of nostalgia for the USSR among age groups"
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/4/5/1/AAUFZqAAELsD.png

100 is the point where the number of respondents answering that they regret the fall of the Soviet Union is equal to the number answering that they do not regret it. The only generation below that point is the generation that was born after the breakup happened.

years and years and years of propaganda will rot your brain...

To give these people as much a benefit of a doubt as possible I'd say what they "support" is probably a narrative being fed to them that has absolutely no bearing on the actual reality of the situation.

UnfairRepresent posted...

How is that misleading?

My bad, I missed the 'over 45' part somehow. I'll delete my earlier post.

Boomers worldwide

Vampire_Chicken posted...

There's often support for war among those who are comfortably distant from it. And among those whose sense of "national pride" holds that if thousands of lives have been wasted, you need to waste thousands more just to prove that wasting them was the right thing to do.

Although to be honest, if your country launches an unjust war then you should be condemning it even if your side hasn't lost a single soldier.

Surely putin fed Russia a line of BS and some bought it

Of course they do.

Sufferedphoneix posted...

Surely putin fed Russia a line of BS and some bought it

Russia's propaganda network is second only to the CCP.

Willing to bet a good chunk of them only said they approve because they were afraid of what could happen to them if they said otherwise.

Its not always easy to know whats really happening when the state controls the media. Im sure that has a major impact in the support for the war.

Isn't all news in Russia state-run, and the older generations love the watch and read the news?

GuerrillaSoldier posted...

the older generations remembers the soviet union. in their opinion, they're in a vastly better situation than they were back then. and they might be right, in some sense.

I don't think I would assume this about their views
https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/701026/russians-life-better-soviet-union-ussr-sixty-four-percent

Cheater87 posted...

Isn't all news in Russia state-run, and the older generations love the watch and read the news?

Yes

Putin shut down all non state media

In unrelated news, 24% of Russians will eventually mysteriously fall out a window.

The MRGA demographic.