Russia’s “popular” war

The West has consistently insisted that the invasion of Ukraine was instigated by Vladimir Putin alone, without the consent of the Russian people.

It seems that the people didn’t need any public debate about the morality or necessity of invading a non-threatening, neighbouring states. Putin expected that Russians would accept the “special military operation” because they wholeheartedly welcomed previous Russian incursions into foreign countries.

The Russians’ previous affirmations of his foreign offensives simply emboldened him once again. During the war with Georgia in 2008, when Putin was prime minister, his popularity soared to 88%. They applauded Putin’s recognition of the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, the annexation of Crimea and Sevasto pol, and the assault against Ukraine in 2014.

His approval rating remained high up until 2019, when the retirement age was raised. Amendments to the Russian constitution in 2020, which guaranteed Putin’s grip on power gained 78% endorsement. The rise in Putin’s popularity coincided with the massive deployment of military alongside Ukraine’s border last year.

The Kremlin controls the media and its content totally. All independent TV channels have been kicked out of the country or closed down. The remaining TV outlets have suspended entertainment programming and have shifted full gear into propaganda mode.

And even the propaganda content on national TV has its bizarre moments: a Russian political scientist, often the star attraction on certain broadcasts, propagates a nuclear war with Europe and calls for a de-Nazification of Poland.

Russia’s media police, Roskomnadzor, has investigated news outlets who have been “disseminating unreliable publicly significant information” and forced them to delete it. It has also accused them of spreading “inaccurate information about the shelling of Ukrainian cities”. With the enforcement of Russia’s draconian new laws prohibiting the use of words such as “war”, this total control does eventually yield results.

The most recent Levada poll gave him 83% approval, fully four weeks after Russia attacked on February 24. While the Levada methods and results are not disputed by international analysts, it’s recognized that Russians are fearful of responding to surveys with answers that oppose the official government position and its lies. To what extent this distorts the results is unknown. But other polling agencies have had similar results, indicating support for the war.

One must, even reluctantly, accept the reality that a significant part of the Russian public genuinely agrees with Putin as to his justification and the brutal conduct of the war, including the suppression of any opposition domestically. In other words, millions of Russians agree with the Kremlin’s grand lie that Russia had no other choice but to go on the offensive to protect itself and thus to rally around its leader, as reprehensible as he is. In fact, some surveys have shown that a majority of Russians are “proud” of the “special military operation”.

Some observers have suggested that numerous Putin opponents have admitted changing their sympathies and now openly support his despotic behaviour because “Russia is surrounded by Westerners who are targeting ordinary Russians as enemies. We have to stick together”. Putin’s warmongering rhetoric has both inspired and frightened Russians, making them deeply apprehensive of the West’s intentions.

Other surveys also reveal that Russians have accepted the Kremlin’s contorted reasoning for warranting the ‘special military operation’: To prevent NATO from establishing bases in Ukraine; to demilitarize Ukraine; to de-Nazify Ukraine; to change the regime in Kiev to a pro-Russian one; to secure Russian borders; to destroy Ukraine’s independence and have it joined with Russia; to protect Russians in the Donbas.

Undoubtedly the vast majority of the international community demands that Russian leadership be held accountable for the invasion and the atrocities against Ukrainians. But the Kremlin insists that Western ‘Russophobia’ is the real cause of the current war. The term has been resurrected by Kremlin propagandists accusing anybody who criticizes Putin of being prejudiced against Russians. Anyone mentioning violations of international agreements, human rights, the brutality against Ukrainians, war crimes, etc., is a ‘Russophobe’.

Even though polls don’t accurately reflect the number of Russians who view the war in disgust and shame, who deeply oppose Putin’s suppression of the truth, who have heard about and are revulsed at the brutality of his troops, and don’t want to live in a world of disinformation, they deserve understanding and support. We must denounce the Kremlin’s ruthless conduct. It’s normal, decent, and vitally necessary. This isn’t Russophobia.

LAAS LEIVAT