December 04, 2022

War Support Falling


War Support Falling
War refugees in Irpin, Ukraine. March 2022. Palinchak.

The news site Meduza got its hands on a secret, internal Kremlin poll (conducted by the Federal Security Service and intended for government use only, not for public disclosure). According to the publication, the poll found that 55% of Russians favor negotiations with Ukraine, and only 25% are in favor of continuing the war.

"These figures are broadly consistent with the results of an October survey by the Levada Center," Meduza reported. In that poll, 57% of respondents favored peace talks, and 27% favored continued hostilities.

This is a significant shift. This summer, just 30% of Russians were in favor of peace talks with Ukraine.

Meduza said that, according to its two highly-placed sources, these trending poll numbers are leading the Kremlin to limit future public polls on Russians' attitude toward the war.

“Anything is possible now, it’s better not to do it,” one source close to the Kremlin said. "It is better not to report these dynamics [changing attitudes to the war]," said another.

The primary driver of changing attitudes, said Dennis Volkov, of independent pollster Levada, in a previous interview with Meduza, was the September mobilization:

"It is the unwillingness of citizens to personally participate in hostilities. Their support [of fighting] remains high, but people's desire to personally participate in this is quite small."

The previously passive public stance toward a war that was far away has been replaced by a sense of more immediate and personal danger. According to sociologist Grigory Yudin, this fall [after mobilization] Russians faced "the destruction of everyday life and a sense of danger." Negotiations are now also more appealing, he said, because the population has begun to sense "a loss of faith in victory, due to battlefield defeats and the absence of a convincing theory of how exactly Russia will win."

None of this, however, is predictive of mass anti-war demonstrations. Even so, the Kremlin is planning to tread cautiously.

For now, Meduza's Kremlin sources say, "it is better not to heat up the situation and not to annoy people again." The sources said that state and pro-government media outlets are already receiving recommendations "not to peddle the topic of war," and to focus on "a more positive agenda."

Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of our Books

Steppe
July 15, 2022

Steppe

This is the work that made Chekhov, launching his career as a writer and playwright of national and international renown. Retranslated and updated, this new bilingual edition is a super way to improve your Russian.

Fish
February 01, 2010

Fish

This mesmerizing novel from one of Russia’s most important modern authors traces the life journey of a selfless Russian everywoman. In the wake of the Soviet breakup, inexorable forces drag Vera across the breadth of the Russian empire. Facing a relentless onslaught of human and social trials, she swims against the current of life, countering adversity and pain with compassion and hope, in many ways personifying Mother Russia’s torment and resilience amid the Soviet disintegration.

Marooned in Moscow
May 01, 2011

Marooned in Moscow

This gripping autobiography plays out against the backdrop of Russia's bloody Civil War, and was one of the first Western eyewitness accounts of life in post-revolutionary Russia. Marooned in Moscow provides a fascinating account of one woman's entry into war-torn Russia in early 1920, first-person impressions of many in the top Soviet leadership, and accounts of the author's increasingly dangerous work as a journalist and spy, to say nothing of her work on behalf of prisoners, her two arrests, and her eventual ten-month-long imprisonment, including in the infamous Lubyanka prison. It is a veritable encyclopedia of life in Russia in the early 1920s.

Russian Rules
November 16, 2011

Russian Rules

From the shores of the White Sea to Moscow and the Northern Caucasus, Russian Rules is a high-speed thriller based on actual events, terrifying possibilities, and some really stupid decisions.

The Little Humpbacked Horse
November 03, 2014

The Little Humpbacked Horse

A beloved Russian classic about a resourceful Russian peasant, Vanya, and his miracle-working horse, who together undergo various trials, exploits and adventures at the whim of a laughable tsar, told in rich, narrative poetry.

Woe From Wit (bilingual)
June 20, 2017

Woe From Wit (bilingual)

One of the most famous works of Russian literature, the four-act comedy in verse Woe from Wit skewers staid, nineteenth century Russian society, and it positively teems with “winged phrases” that are essential colloquialisms for students of Russian and Russian culture.

Little Golden Calf
February 01, 2010

Little Golden Calf

Our edition of The Little Golden Calf, one of the greatest Russian satires ever, is the first new translation of this classic novel in nearly fifty years. It is also the first unabridged, uncensored English translation ever, and is 100% true to the original 1931 serial publication in the Russian journal 30 Dnei. Anne O. Fisher’s translation is copiously annotated, and includes an introduction by Alexandra Ilf, the daughter of one of the book’s two co-authors.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955