Why Russians continue to strongly support Putin
Many analysts have long been wondering what the Russian population thinks about the war in Ukraine and the Kremlin’s policies.
Ugo Poletti interviewed Russian political scientist and political commentator Alexander Morozov, Member of the Council of the Free Russia Forum. He has lived in the Czech Republic since 2013. In 2023, the Russian authorities declared him a “foreign agent.” Morozov used to be teacher at Ruhr University (Bochum) and Charles University (Prague).
Morozov: When Putin speaks of the need to eliminate the “root cause of the war,” these are incomprehensible words in world politics. In international conflict resolution, it is impossible to pose questions of a global nature. Yet Putin does so, and within Russia he meets with complete understanding. The population is persuaded that Russia is defending itself from “NATO expansion,” from “American biolabs in Ukraine,” from the West’s intent to undermine the so-called “Russian cultural code,” and so on. Russians believe the root cause of the war is simply that “they don’t like us.” And therefore, “although we Russians are a peaceful people, we can bare our teeth.”
One can put it this way: 65-68% of Russians, including the educated class and entrepreneurs with experience in global markets, tell themselves: We are for peace, but on the terms laid down by Vladimir Putin. That is why the Kremlin enjoys stable support for the war it is waging.
As soon as economic fortunes improved, from 2005 the Kremlin launched a large-scale program of preparation for a future war. Within the Russian General Staff, the view took hold that a major war around 2030-35 was inevitable. In 2014, the Kremlin began testing its entry into that war – and has continued ever since.
The population as a whole sees no alternative to Putinism as a model of governance. Every day, the Russian parliament stamps out grotesque new laws restricting civil rights, and the people simply press their ears tighter to their heads.
An assessment of the concrete factors shaping attitudes to the war:
- The first factor: recruitment is built on very large payments. Russian contract soldiers are paid more than in many armies worldwide. Military families receive not only generous salaries, but also various benefits – mortgages, children’s higher education, and so forth. As a result, several million families are now affected.
- The second factor: for two years, arms manufacturers have received steady state orders, which has generated major economic activity in a number of regions.
- The third: businesses involved in import substitution, shadow supplies and construction works in the occupied territories have found new opportunities. This has created new situations for many small entrepreneurs.
Taken together, this has produced millions of social groups who have become beneficiaries of the war. Unsurprisingly, they support Kremlin policy
Kyiv Post.
Why joining military service?
A recruitment specialist admits that many of them are poor. "But almost everyone cites patriotic feelings when asked about their motivation. Some mention debt. Of course, everyone is confident they'll survive, but they can't stop thinking about death altogether."…...
Younger males sign up because they are motivated, as a social worker involved in recruitment says, by "the fact that they're losers. For them, going through the war is one of the few goals in life that's realistically achievable."
"They say it like that: 'I'm 35, I'm a total loser, this is my last chance.' You can completely screw up, get drunk, be lazy, lose your shit, have failed in your relationships, have no family, have been laying around for years playing computer games.
And then they ask you: 'Want to play another game?' There's a non-zero chance it won't go well. But you'll also have money, a profession, status, respect, and the attention of society. And their eyes light up.
Many see military service as the only way out of a life of low-paid drudgery. As Ivan, a fitter, says, "salaries in Russia are low. You're educated, well-read, and you work, but you have no money. If I had a peacetime salary of 200,000 rubles, I wouldn't go to war."
Large numbers of elderly Russian men are being attracted by fat recruitment bonuses to join the war in Ukraine for the financial benefit of their families. "I've lived my life, we'll get an apartment for my son now, so what if I get killed?", asks one.