Sociologist Lev Gudkov was surprised by the high percentage of those approving of the war

Pollster: Russians have little sympathy for Ukrainians

• Lev Gudkov.

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• Many Russians avoid talking about the war.

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Lev Gudkov examines why Russians engage with his independent opinion research institute.

In an interview with "Der Spiegel" magazine, the Russian sociologist and expert in opinion polls at the "Levada" polling center discussed the Ukrainian crisis, the lack of morals in his homeland, the victim mentality of Russia, and the fears of nuclear war.

The following are excerpts from the conversation:

■ Mr. Gudkov, President Vladimir Putin said recently that “the special operation is moving quickly.

Everything is stable.” To what extent do the Russians support this version, especially after the setbacks of the Russian army in Kharkiv and Kherson?

■■ State propaganda still succeeds in forming a broad consensus. Recently, the majority of respondents (53%) believe that the military operation in Ukraine was a success. These are mainly people who watch state television and have little access to the Internet, including the elderly. Of the Russians, but there is also another smaller component of the community, a third of the respondents, who said the operation did not work.

■ What are the reasons that drive people to doubt?

■■ They say the process took a long time, no progress has been made, and people are somehow concerned about the possibility of military defeat for their country, the chaos in the army, and the incompetence of the leadership.

For many years they were told that the Russian army is the strongest and has miraculous weapons, but this myth has evaporated.

■ war itself is not subject to questioning?

■■ No, the attacks on Ukraine and the pogroms don't play any role, the Russians have little sympathy for the Ukrainians, and almost no one here talks about the fact that people are being killed in Ukraine.

■ So they avoid it?

■■ The war revealed mechanisms in society that had existed since the Soviet era, and it is customary for people to sympathize with the state, and adopt its discourse on the struggle of their homeland against fascism and Nazism, just as they did in the Soviet era, to justify the situation, and all this was present in the minds of people to some Time, publicity has reinvigorated these patterns.

They forbid any sympathy for what is happening in Ukraine, and these sentiments only apply to their dead and wounded soldiers, "our men."

■ Is this the response you expected?

■■ No, this passivity and capitulation is disappointing. We did a quick phone survey on February 27, just after the war started, and at that time I still thought the reaction would be very critical of the war, but I was wrong.. 68% supported the war, and I was I categorically oppose publishing this poll.

■ According to the opinion polls I conducted, approval of the war increased after that... right?

■■ Yes, it has been consistently more than 70%.

■ More than 10,000 men were reported killed in this war, according to independent Russian media, and tens of thousands according to Western sources.. Do people realize the losses?

■■ Not quite. We are facing complete censorship. Facebook and Twitter are banned, as are many online media outlets.

The number of those who know how to circumvent barriers through VPNs (services that create an encrypted connection over the Internet) has increased from about 6% to 23%, but it is still small, and they are mostly younger, educated residents of large cities, and the proportion is still The majority of the population is exposed to advertising.

■ What is the prevailing mood in society?

■■ It is the uncertainty, and people are very afraid that the economic situation will deteriorate further, and that this war will escalate into an all-out war with the entire West, and this is a very painful reaction to Putin's threat of possible use of nuclear weapons.

• It is usual for people to sympathize with the state and adopt its rhetoric about their homeland's struggle against fascism and Nazism, just as they did in the Soviet era. 

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