Notes

Why Do So Many Russians Say They Support the War in Ukraine?
If Ukrainians succeeded in fully reforming their country along lines of other western democracies, it would set a bad precedent for former Soviet countries and serve as an example for Russians who want a more democratic country. “For me, the special military operation is a stage that must be passed – whether there should be an intrusion into so many lives is another matter. Airfares were growing each time I refreshed the page and having reached the figure of 300,000 rubles ($4,000), I understood that an alternative was needed and bought bus tickets to Tbilisi with my girl from Moscow for 5,000 rubles ($66) each. This special operation is complete nonsense and an absurdity that no one needed. Although Ukraine is a much smaller country, it is strong patriotically.


This has been pretty hard as we have very different views. Now, I’m very encouraged by the fact that the world understands that the Russian people did not choose this war, that instead it was started by a president who lives in some absurd reality of his own. And if I am not imprisoned soon for speaking out against war, I want to try – together with like-minded people – to do everything I can to give our country hope for a peaceful future. “In the past few years, I’ve become closely involved with volunteering. Roughly speaking, I just started helping another part of the population. Over 2022, I helped with humanitarian aid for visiting refugees from the Donetsk and Luhansk people’s republics, collected humanitarian aid, and wrote letters for mobilised servicemen.

The war on Ukraine explained: Hear from our experts
According to the website OVD-Info, which specializes in political persecution, some 19,850 people have been arrested for protesting since February 24, 2022. For this reason, the Kremlin is suspicious of the demands of the female relatives of conscripts. Some laid flowers and individually picketed with signs at the places where the Eternal Flame commemorates Russian soldiers. As reported by ‘On the Way Home,’ some balaclava-wearing members of the Ministry of Internal Affairs’ Center for Combating Extremism approached the woman on the subway to identify them. However, these efforts did not frighten them, and the women continued their initiative in the days that followed. Their town has been directly affected, so we are worried about them.

He's the director of the Levada Center, an independent polling firm in Russia. Young Russians tell us about a war few wanted and how the sanctions are affecting their lives. It's quick to set up, and you can be confident that you're making a significant impact every month by supporting open, independent journalism.
This data tells a different story about Russian public opinion, especially outside Moscow — a story Putin will not like. For the past year, the
Center for Strategic and International Studies has worked with
FilterLabs.AI, a Massachusetts-based data analytics firm, to track local sentiment across Russia using AI-enabled sentiment analysis. Thus the regime may yet rally the population around the notion that it is the West that has pushed Putin to extremes by expanding its security at Russia’s expense. The media clampdown means that many are unaware of the full scale of what is happening there, and see developments from a very different perspective. https://click4r.com/posts/g/16442457/ is not just Ukraine’s 44 million people whose lives have been upended. In the coming days, many others far from the field of battle maybe find themselves buffeted by ripple effects.

‘There are a lot of lies. Both on our side, and from Ukraine’
Almost three-quarters of Ukrainians believe that their country will join NATO and the European Union within a decade, Gallup’s polling shows. Ukrainians are deeply confident in their military, with approval ratings at a record high of 95%, according to Gallup. Support for Zelenskyy has faltered slightly but is still overwhelmingly strong at 81%. “Although there is some evidence of fatigue, Ukrainians overall remain committed to winning the war,” Ray said.


Right now, we cannot withdraw other currencies at ATMs until September. And we’re seeing products disappear from shelves – rice, flour, sugar, canned food – but I guess that’s really just because of mass panic. I have never seen empty shelves in stores in the centre before. Yesterday, I couldn’t buy contact lenses because they ran out in the store where I would normally buy them. It seems like it will close – I saw employees removing shelves and emptying boxes, and the light was turned off.


In response, the US, EU, UK and other countries have levelled sanctions, both general and targeted, and doors have closed to Russians around the world, from research institutions to sporting events, in protest at Russia’s invasion. Young Russians tell us about a war few wanted and how the sanctions are affecting their lives. Putin has inherited much of his world view from the Russian-chauvinist and Russocentric traditions of the former imperial and Soviet Russian regimes. His Ukrainophobic attitudes can be attributed in part to his being steeped in deeply rooted feelings of both Russian superiority and resentment towards Ukrainians who have consistently asserted their distinct identity.

He contrasts this to public opinion surrounding the annexation of Crimea in 2014, recalling that there were positive feelings and even "euphoria" at the time. Muddling the information environment and sowing mistrust has not generated positive support for Moscow’s misadventures. As Republican and Democratic politicians in the U.S. spar with one another over sending military equipment to Ukraine, “Germany has come through in its support,” Radchenko said. I have a colleague in my laboratory who is a reviewer at an open access science publisher. I can’t even really tell why they believe what they believe.
Anti-war protests have broken out in scores of cities across Russia, and many have taken to social media to express their shock and anger at the decision to attack a nation whom Russians consider kindred, and where many have family ties. Early Thursday morning, any remaining skepticism that their country would invade was put to rest, when Mr. Putin declared a “special military operation” in Ukraine. Even those who did agree to answer the questions in Miniailo’s survey displayed a heightened level of fear and discomfort.

Roughly speaking, I just started helping another part of the population. Mostly because I don’t understand how anyone could take this step – to send people to fight, to kill others. Standing at one queue in Moscow, Evgeny (name changed), 45, said he wanted to withdraw money to pay off his mortgage. In Russia, both pro-Putin supporters and anti-Putin oppositionists like Alexei Navalny and Mikhail Khodorkovsky backed the annexation of Crimea.
The economic collapse looming as a consequence of the sanctions imposed by Western states erodes popular consent for his rule, potentially even among those who rely on state-sponsored media for information. The sanctions now hitting Russia are being described as economic war - they aim to isolate the country and create a deep recession there. Western leaders hope the unprecedented measures will bring about a change in thinking in the Kremlin. There are, however, Russian independent media who still defy government restrictions. For example, Novaya Gazeta blurred out the anti-war poster held up by a protester who interrupted a live news bulletin on Russian state TV. As a result, some of the few remaining independent media in Russia have started to censor themselves.

In addition, the police recently searched the flat of a close friend of mine and then put her under house arrest for two months. Airfares were growing each time I refreshed the page and having reached the figure of 300,000 rubles ($4,000), I understood that an alternative was needed and bought bus tickets to Tbilisi with my girl from Moscow for 5,000 rubles ($66) each. Some of my friends are leaving the country right now, and I understand them. As for who is to blame for the current situation, in which more than 100,000 Russian soldiers are stationed at the border in a tense standoff with the Ukrainian and Western governments, Lena is unequivocal. According to the Defense Ministry, the goal was to recruit 300,000 civilians, but the decree did not include a figure. The Levada Center stays within those parameters by asking whether people support the actions of the Russian military.
Website: https://click4r.com/posts/g/16442457/