Half of the respondents are following the situation around Ukraine, but their share continues to decline smoothly. Support for the actions of the Russian armed forces in Ukraine remains high, there are no significant changes on this issue. The society was almost equally divided on the question of whether to continue the offensive or to start negotiations. Confidence continues to grow that the “special operation” will last more than six months.
The share of people closely monitoring the situation around Ukraine continues to decline: 21% are following the events “very closely” (in July – 25%, in March – 29%) and another 30% are following them “quite closely” (31% in July, 35% in March).
Respondents from the older age group (55 years and older) are most closely following events related to Ukraine – 69% are closely following the events. In the age group from 40 to 54 years, 55% of respondents are closely follow the events, as do 33% of people aged 25 to 39 and 28% of people aged 18 to 24.
The level of concern about the Ukrainian events has also decreased, in August 74% of respondents are concerned about them: 37% are very worried (in July – 44%, in March – 46%), another 37% are rather worried (in July – 37%, in March 36%).
The greatest concern is typical for people aged 55 and older: 55% of them are very concerned about what is happening, 32% are rather worried. The youngest respondents are the least concerned about what is happening: 14% are very worried and 39% are rather worried.
The level of support for the actions of the Russian Armed Forces in Ukraine has not changed over the summer months: 46% “definitely support” the actions of the Russian armed forces and another 30% “rather support” them. A total of 17% of respondents does not support the actions of the Russian army.
The greatest support for the actions of the Russian armed forces in Ukraine is observed among the older age group – 85% support; the lowest level of support is typical for young respondents (18-24): 65% of them express support.
At the same time, about half of the respondents (53%) believe that the majority of people hold the same views on the “special operation” as themselves. Among respondents 55 years and older, the share of the same answers is 64%. The least (35%) of people with this opinion are among the respondents aged 18-24. Among those who support the actions of the Russian armed forces in Ukraine, 64% believe that the majority of Russians hold the same views as they do. In the group of respondents who do not support the actions of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, slightly more than a quarter (27%) believe that the majority adheres to their views, 43% – that opinions are split in half, 19% – that the majority holds opposite views.
The prevailing feelings about the military actions in Ukraine are “pride for Russia” (48%) and “anxiety, fear, horror” (31%). These sentiments have hardly changed since March.
On the question of whether it is necessary to continue military actions or to proceed to negotiations, society is divided almost equally: about half of respondents (48%) believe that it is necessary to continue military operations, slightly less (44%) – that peace negotiations should begin. The first position prevails among the older age groups – 40-54 years (53%) and 55 years and older (55%). In the groups of 18-24 years and 25-39 years, the situation is reversed: the position on the need to start peace negotiations enjoys the greatest support.
Among those who support the actions of the Russian armed forces in Ukraine, the majority (60%) believe that military operations should continue, about a third (34%) believe that negotiations should begin. Among respondents who do not support the actions of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, only 10% support the continuation of hostilities.
There is no clear opinion in society about how long the military “special operation” can last. However, confidence continues to grow that it will last from six months or longer. So, about a quarter believe that it can last up to six months: 2% — no more than a month, 4% — from a month to two, 18% — from two months to six months. Another 55% of respondents believe that it can last more than six months: 24% — from six months to a year, 31% — more than a year.
A third of respondents believe that people like themselves bear moral responsibility for the deaths of civilians and destruction in Ukraine: 10% believe that they “certainly do”, 23% — ”to some extent they do”. The reverse position is held by 60% of respondents. There have been no significant changes on this issue since May.
METHODOLOGY
The survey by the Levada Center was conducted August 25 – 31 2022, among a representative sample of all Russian urban and rural residents. The sample was comprised of 1612 people aged 18 or older in 137 municipalities of 50 regions of the Russian Federation. The survey was conducted as a personal interview in respondents’ homes. The answer distribution is presented as percentages of the total number of participants along with data from previous surveys.
The statistical error of these studies for a sample of 1600 people (with a probability of 0.95) does not exceed:
3.4% for indicators around 50%
2.9% for indicators around 25%/75%
2.0% for indicators around 10%/90%
1.5% for indicators around 5%/95%
The ANO Levada Center is included in the registry of non-commercial organizations acting as foreign agents.