As Vladimir Putin’s military offensive in Ukraine continues unabated, one question keeps everyone’s mind busy: How do Russians feel about the Ukraine war?
Normally, we would rely on some public survey results to get a basic idea. However, it could be a bit tricky when it comes to Russia. Why? Because people fear the consequences of stating their actual opinions.
If you contradict the official narrative, which unequivocally justifies the war as Moscow’s defense mechanism against “persecutions” of Russian separatists in Eastern Ukraine, you could even end up in jail.
Clearly, this is why most surveys show a massive public support for the war. Of course, it also includes the elderly population who genuinely support the war, as they are not familiar with internet use, and only follow state-run TV propaganda.
But now we have another indicator on hand: A new economy poll that has not directly asked about stances on the war, but merely asked, if the government had “some additional budget revenues,” where it should be sent first, without requiring the citizens to pay an additional tax.
As a result, “only seven percent” of those surveyed said that the extra money should be spent on military expenditures, meaning the ongoing war in Ukraine. And it appears to be the closest response to the key question of how Russians feel about the war so far.
The largest portion of respondents (32 percent) wish the amount to be spent on “pension payments”, which is followed by those who want “healthcare services” to be prioritized (27 percent), and people who opted for “education” (15 percent).
The poll was conducted by Alexei Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK) on the phone among 1,000 Russians over the age of 18 from May 18 to 25 in 2022.
Navalny is Putin’s top critic and the strongest opposition leader in the country. He is currently serving an 11-year sentence for “parole violations, fraud, and contempt of court charges,” which he says are fabricated.
According to Navalny, the survey proves that Russians are “obviously not buying” Putin propagandists’ rhetoric that the entire world is out to get Russia.
How does the war impact Russians’ life standards?
This primarily stems from the terrible poverty Russians have been suffering that is even exacerbated by the war.
Other findings of the poll are that 49 percent of the public have no savings at all, and only 18 percent have a financial cushion enough to survive a possible loss of income for three months or more.
Around a quarter of the participants (22 percent) have had someone close to them lose their job in the past three months — since the start of the war in February.
Nearly a third (29 percent) said they canceled their plans to make major purchases after the start of the war. And 78 percent are not planning any major purchases throughout the year.
One of the most critical questions was “Have the sanctions on Russia affected your way of life in any way?”
In response, 37 percent said yes, which is around a 10 percent increase from a previous survey in April 2022, where 28 percent stated they were affected by the sanctions.
