Many Russians support Putin despite favoring opposing policies, survey shows

Russian President Vladimir Putin continues to enjoy majority support in his country, even though many of his supporters back steps contradicting the Kremlin's actual policies, a survey published by Meduza and RFE/RL's Current Time news outlets on Oct. 22 shows.

The Kremlin's chief has enjoyed consistent support among the Russian population even as Moscow's full-scale war against Ukraine has been ongoing for more than two and half years, previous independent polling revealed.

Around 78% of respondents said they continue to support Putin's activities as president, according to the poll conducted by the independent Levada Center between Sept. 10 and 17.

At the same time, 83% of Putin's supporters said that the government should focus more on domestic social and economic issues, and 61% favored peace in Ukraine with mutual concessions.

Some 43% of respondents wanted to restore relations with the West, while 25% supported full mobilization for the war against Ukraine.

The Kremlin has avoided instituting a full draft, carrying out only a limited mobilization in September 2022 and replenishing its forces from other sources like volunteers, convicts, migrant workers, or, recently, North Korean soldiers.

Of those who did not voice support for Putin, 79% supported a peace agreement with Ukraine with mutual concessions, 90% wanted to restore relations with the West, 92% desired greater government focus on domestic issues, and 13% supported mobilization.

Putin has claimed he is always open to negotiations while also reiterating Moscow's maximalist goals of "demilitarization" and "de-Nazification" of Ukraine. The Kremlin's propaganda has falsely accused the Ukrainian leadership of Nazi ideology to justify its full-scale invasion.

Ukrainian and Western officials said they do not believe Putin is willing to negotiate in good faith and continues to seek full control over the country.

Russia has so far not agreed to participate in Ukraine's planned second peace summit. In June, Putin demanded Kyiv cede the entire regions of Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Luhansk, and Donetsk, which are under partial Russian occupation, as a precondition for talks.

Ukraine has rejected this and insisted any peace talks should be led on the basis of President Volodymyr Zelensky's peace formula, which stresses the inviolability of territorial integrity and sovereignty and a complete withdrawal of Russian forces.

Russia continues to hold roughly one-fifth of Ukraine's territory while its forces are steadily pushing forward in the Donbas region.

Putin delays new mobilization, despite Kursk incursion exposing troop shortages

Amid speculation that the Kremlin is considering a new mobilization of conscripts, some potential draftees say they are not enthusiastic about defending Russian territory just over a month after the Ukrainian incursion into Kursk Oblast. “I won’t go (to the front). I swore an oath to the Constituti…

The Kyiv IndependentOleg Sukhov

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