Poll Shows Overwhelming Russian Support For the War, But Are They Real or Accurate? The war that Russia wrought on Ukraine in late February has not gone well or according to plan, but that message isn’t being broadcast in Russia, where the state controls everything that the Russian people see and hear.
In the early days of the war, tens of thousands of Russians protested against the Ukrainian invasion and were promptly arrested. Then the regime of Vladimir Putin passed sweeping measures that any criticism of the military or the “special military operation” in Ukraine could result in 15 years in prison.
Independent newspapers and radio stations were shut down and hundreds of thousands of Russian citizens who protested the regime’s war have left the country. But a recent poll by the respected and independent organization Levada, reveals the overwhelming support for President Putin, whose approval rating shot up from 69 percent in January to 83 percent recently.
Approval for the war is 81 percent as respondents stated that they need to protect Russian-speaking people against Ukrainian aggression was the primary reason behind the invasion.
Furthermore, 69 percent of Russians believe that the country is moving in the right direction as opposed to 50 percent in February.
Denis Volkov, Levada’s director, said that the surveys showed that the majority of Russians, inundated with a barrage of stories about Western aggression have rallied around Putin as trying to protect Russia from the West.
But are the results of the polling a true gauge of how the Russian people feel about Putin and the war, or are they afraid to voice even the slightest dissent against the regime or their war in Ukraine?
Huge “Pro-War Rally, Forced People to Attend
Earlier in March, Putin, in a rare public appearance, held a large pro-war rally in Luzhniki Stadium with about 200,000 people in attendance, waving Russian and pro-war flags, chanting “Russia, Russia”, while the stage was plastered with propaganda signs that stated “For a World Without Nazism” and supporting Putin.
But many of those people in attendance stated that they were basically forced to attend the rally by their employers, with some even stating that they were not aware it was a pro-war rally but it was supposed to be a concert.
Many of those who attended the rally didn’t want their faces shown on television or have their names used.
But even that propaganda operation went awry. As Putin was spouting about Russian “unity”, the message wasn’t heard by the people.
“Shoulder to shoulder, they help each other, support each other and when needed, they shield each other from bullets with their bodies like brothers. The country hasn’t seen unity like this in a long time,” Putin said, but as he was finishing his speech, it was cut off by a glitch on Russian television and it wasn’t until much later that Russian television viewers would see his entire comments.
The New York Times reported that many of the people who spoke out about the war or Putin have returned to their homes to find the letter “Z” (emblazoned on Russian vehicles in Ukraine) or the words “traitor” or “collaborator” on their doors.
The Putin regime has inundated the Russian people with non-stop pro-war coverage, Channel 1, a state-run television station dedicated 15 hours of Ukraine news as compared to the normal five hours they had previously dedicated prior to the invasion.
Steve Balestrieri is a 1945 National Security Columnist. He has served as a US Army Special Forces NCO and Warrant Officer before injuries forced his early separation. In addition to writing for 19fortyfive.com, he has covered the NFL for PatsFans.com for more than 10 years and his work was regularly featured in the Millbury-Sutton Chronicle and Grafton News newspapers in Massachusetts.
