Pesquisa de opinião na Rússia, refletida no boletim do CDS:
"The very existence of my Motherland (Russia) is at stake. I don't want to see the collapse, the destruction of my country."
Meduza, a Russian media, conducted a poll that showed that even in its liberal audience, "there are people who continue to make excuses for the invasion, despite the fact that it's caused untold pain for millions of Ukrainians and has been destructive to Russia itself."
"A war ends when one side wins. Russia's defeat will mean national humiliation, which we cannot allow. Therefore, we must win — we no longer have a choice," a 35 y.o. wrote. "The war was a mistake, but losing it is unacceptable," a 30 y.o. Russian living in Germany wrote. "I'm angry at both sides of the conflict. I'm angry at Russia because it started a stupid, bloodthirsty war leading to senseless killing daily. I'm angry at the countries that support Ukraine because they're not insisting on an immediate cessation of hostilities, on end to the senseless killing," a 38 y.o. wrote. "I don't support the war. But unfortunately, the very existence of my Motherland (Russia) is at stake. I don't want to see the collapse, the destruction of my country," a 38 y.o. wrote. "The only thing worse than a war is a lost war. Starting it was an insane mistake, but now we have to win it; otherwise, we'll be in the position of vae victis. I don't support Putin — damn him," a 35 y.o. wrote. " [I support the war] because, in my view, the "peace plan" presented by Zelensky and supported by the "collective West" is highly likely to do so much damage to Russia that we can't be sure it would survive," a 36 y.o. wrote. "As a resident of Russia, I believe that while sending troops into Ukraine was a mistake, withdrawing them would be a crime. I have no intention of paying reparations for the mistakes of others for the next 20 years," a 28 y.o.
There's a growing understanding among the expert society of what kind of profound and long-lasting problem Russia and Russians pose to Europe and the globe. Furthermore, there are indications of an evolving understanding of the attitudes towards Russia and Russians in Ukraine and other Central and Eastern European countries. However, it will take a considerable time for this sober understanding to become widely accepted as the mainstream view. The genocidal war waged by Russia against Ukraine has compelled a thorough reassessment of the approaches to Russian studies, highlighting the urgent need for a profound revision.
Center for Defense Studies, Daily Brief, June, 11, 2023
