Poll: 76% of Russians are for war, but only 40% would approve of the participation of loved ones

More than three quarters of Russians (76 percent) expressed support for the actions of the Russian armed forces in Ukraine, according to the results of a sociological survey conducted in October by the Levada Center. Of these, 45 percent of respondents “definitely support” these actions, 31 percent “they rather support it,” Radio Liberty reports.

Sociologists note that the highest level of support is recorded among men aged 55 and older (81 percent), and the lowest among young people under 24 (67 percent).

At the same time, only 40 percent of Russians would rather support the decision of a loved one to go to war personally. 42 percent of respondents would rather not approve of such a decision. Another 17 percent found it difficult to answer the corresponding question, which, as the director of the Levada Center Denis Volkov explained, was asked to Russians for the first time.

Volkov emphasized that he perceives the answers to it as “another way to determine how many Russians really support the “SVO”, and how many only talk about it.”

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“Those who approve of sending a loved one to a combat zone are people who are ready to sacrifice something, and not just support it in words,”– Volkov believes.

At the same time, only 36 percent of Russians are in favor of continuing military action. 55 percent believe that the time has come for peace talks with Ukraine.

Many sociologists point out that legislation to discredit the army and the persecution of the opposition and political activists, including anti-war ones, can significantly distort polls about the government and the war in favor of support. Experts explain this by the possible fear of people giving answers that, in their opinion, would dissatisfy the authorities.

In 2016, the non-governmental analytical center of Yuri Levada, or the Levada Center, which regularly conducts sociological and marketing research, was recognized by the Russian authorities as a "foreign agent". The organization does not agree with this. It has been repeatedly noted that the results of the Levada Center polls differ greatly from the results of surveys by state sociological services.

Prepared by: Sergey Daga