Not just “Putin’s war”.
On March 31, Levada Center, Russia’s most reliable pollster, released a survey of the public opinion taken on March 24-30, a full month since the start of the war in Ukraine – and the horrors of Kharkiv, Irpin and Mariupol.
The results paint a bleak picture for the future of democracy in Russia.
1. 81% of the population support the actions of the Russian armed forces in Ukraine.
2. 65% of Russians derive from these actions feelings of pride, enthusiasm and joy.
3. Only 6% ‘definitely’ do not support the war in Ukraine (and another 8% ‘somewhat’ do not support it).
4. Of those who said they oppose the war, only 27% oppose it because Russia should not have invaded another sovereign nation, should have found a peaceful solution or because Russia is the aggressor. 43% oppose the war due to the suffering and destruction it entails. 8% are concerned about the deaths of Russian soldiers.
In other words, only 4% of the whole of Russia believes that military aggression against its neighbor is wrong (14% of those who are opposed times 27% of those who are against invasion/aggression)‼️
If these numbers do not send shivers down your spine, I do not know what does.
To me, personally, the math is horrifying. It means that if Russia would have delivered a bloodless blitzkrieg in Ukraine in 2022 just as in did in Crimea in 2014, 96% of its residents would have gone on with business as usual.
And so, in my view, ordinary Russians must be held responsible for the aggression against Ukraine.
This is clearly not simply “Putin’s war”.
Dr. Marianna Kozintseva is a global macro strategist and a fintech entrepreneur. She worked at Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan, Bear Stearns, World Bank and RAND Corporation. Currently, she is a visiting faculty at the SKB Institute for Financial Economics, Singapore Management University.
This Op Ed reflects the author’s views and not necessarily those of the Kyiv Post.
