Polling Within Russia Suggests Strong Support For War

A polling report from Lord Ashcroft Polls today shows high levels of support for the Russian military operation in Ukraine and President Vladimir Putin.

• Ashcroft's polling is generally well respected and utilises high sample sizes however, Ashcroft qualifies his Russia polling by stating that political conditions within Russia may distort responses.
• The respected Russian independent public opinion company the Levada Center, has also reported an uptick in Putin's approval rating since the war began, but their monthly report for March after the intensification of the war hasn't yet been released.
• Ashcroft's poll is useful as the level of support for the war within Russia may be underreported by Western media outlets. This theory is backed up by the seemingly strong support of a pro-war rally at the Luzhniki stadium in Moscow today.
• That support at the Luzhniki has also been questioned by the BBC's Will Vernon who interviewed participants at the rally. Vernon wrote: 'Students told us they had been given the option of a day off from lectures if they attended 'a concert.' Some of them didn't even know that the event was dedicated, in part, to support for Russian forces in Ukraine.'
• One clear result from Ashcroft's polling is a significant divergence in support between younger and older Russians. This is likely due to older Russians getting the vast majority of their news from state news services.
• Ashcroft: 'Those aged 18 to 24 were the only group more likely to say that they oppose the invasion (46%) than support it (40%). 42% rejected the argument that the action was necessary to protect Russian security (compared to 15% overall), and they were more likely to disagree (46%) than agree (35%) that Ukraine needed to be demilitarised and de-Nazified.'

Approval of actors in the Ukraine warLord Ashcroft Polling