While the whole world seems to be watching the Russian “special military operation” in Ukraine, a new joint survey by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs and the Levada Center conducted March 24–30 shows that most people living in Russia are not following these events closely. Nevertheless, a majority of Russians say they support their country’s military action—with just over half strongly backing it. For the most part, Russians think these actions are being taken to protect and defend fellow Russians and Russian speakers in Ukraine, to protect Russia itself, or to “denazify” Ukraine—storylines that have been amplified by the Russian government’s media apparatus. CONTINUED
Dina Smeltz, Emily Sullivan, Lily Wojtowicz, Chicago Council on Global Affairs, and Denis Volkov & Stepan Goncharov, Levada Analytical Center
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