Russians consider the USA, Great Britain and France to be the main allies of the USSR in the Great Patriotic War, while Germany, Japan and Italy are called the main opponents. The absolute majority of Russians — unlike the population of Western countries — believe that it was the Soviet Union that made the greatest contribution to the victory over Germany. Three quarters of the respondents say that the Soviet Union could have won the war without the help of the Allies
Month: September 2024
The conflict with Ukraine: key indicators, responsibility, reasons for concern, the threat of a clash with NATO and the use of nuclear weapons
About half of the respondents continue to follow the Ukrainian events quite closely. Support for the actions of the Russian armed forces also remains at a high level. For the first time in six months, the number of supporters of negotiations has increased significantly (up to 58%). Most of the respondents believe that Russia is more interested in negotiations. Two thirds of respondents still hold the United States and NATO responsible for what is happening, and their conviction has grown over the year. Half of the respondents allows the conflict to escalate into a direct clash between Russia and NATO. Russia’s military actions in Ukraine mainly cause Russians to be proud of Russia (48%) or alarm, fear and horror (33%), these feelings have prevailed among respondents since the beginning of the conflict. The majority of respondents are concerned about the shelling of Russian territories by Ukraine, the threat of the use of nuclear weapons and the supply of Western military equipment. One in three admits that Russia’s use of nuclear weapons during the conflict may be justified.
Mass perceptions about Western sanctions
Concerns about Western sanctions against Russia are gradually weakening. The blocking of Russian gold and foreign exchange reserves is more of a concern. The number of people who are confident that sanctions affect the majority of the population is gradually decreasing. The prevailing opinion is that the sanctions have not created serious problems for the respondents and their families. Those who still talk about problems note the departure of brands, rising prices, restrictions on travel abroad, blocking of payment systems, and the disappearance of a number of medicines. At the same time, almost two thirds of respondents believe that sanctions will strengthen our country and become an incentive for its development. The majority of respondents (73%) believe that Russia should “continue its policy despite the sanctions.”
Conflict with Ukraine: Assessments for May 2024
Mass assessments of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict are stable. More than half of the respondents are monitoring the situation quite closely. Most support the actions of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. Half of the respondents believe that it is necessary to move on to peace negotiations (43% are in favor of continuing military operations, their share has been growing in recent months). However, the majority is not ready to make concessions regarding Ukraine and this share is growing. Russians consider the exchange of prisoners of war and a ceasefire to be acceptable conditions for signing a peace agreement, while the return of new regions and Ukraine’s accession to NATO are completely unacceptable. If there was an opportunity to go back in time and cancel or support the start of Special Military Operation, slightly more than a third of the respondents would reverse this decision (their share has decreased slightly in recent months).