The attitude of the Russian society on Putin`s Policy and its reflection on war in Ukraine

 The attitude of the Russian society on Putin`s Policy and its reflection on war in Ukraine 

 

  Nika Chitadze.

  Professor of the International Black Sea University.

  Director of the Center for International Studies

  President of the George C. Marshall Alumni Union, Georgia - International and Security Research       Center  

  

   

The answer to the opinion, "Putin is bad but ordinary Russian people do not want a war", or that "does not everyone like Putin in Russia" and so on.

First of all, it should be noted that the majority of the Russian population approved of the genocide of the Chechen nation carried out by Russia as a result of the two Chechen wars, when according to various data from 160 to 200 thousand people in the territory of Chechnya

Died. As a result, a large portion of the Russian population supported the election of Putin as President (as a successful leader) for a third term (Putin's second term expired in 2008).

As a result of the attack on Georgia in 2008, Putin (then the Prime Minister)'s rating increased even more, and out of 450 members of the State Duma, almost all members of the "People's Choice" supported Abkhazia and the so-called Recognition of the "independence" of South Ossetia.

As a result of the invasion of Crimea in 2014, the percentage of Putin's supporters exceeded 80%. And in February of this year, Ukraine's confidence in Putin increased from 60 to 71%.

As for the fact that "not everyone in Russia supports Putin", yes, not everyone supports him, but those who are critical of him, most of them support either the Communist Party or the so-called The Liberal Democratic Party (led by Zhirinovsky), ie the forces in no less imperialist positions. For example, in the "elections" to the Russian State Duma in September 2021, the ruling United Russia party (United Russia) received 49.82% of the vote, followed by the Communist Party of Russia with 18 votes. 93%, while the third place went to the so-called. Liberal Democratic Party - 7.55%. I want a conclusion for you.

Consequently, if anyone in Russia today comes out and protests against the war, I think most of them will not feel so sorry for the Ukrainian people but will be personally affected by the Western sanctions against Russia and become "pacifists" and "peace activists." The question is, why did not the same people protest against the genocide of the Chechen nation? The brutal aggression carried out by the Kremlin against Georgia in 2008 (and not only)? The occupation of Crimea in 2014 and the so-called Support for the "Republics" of Donbas and Lugansk? Because the sanctions imposed by the West in 2014 (the West did not impose sanctions at all in 2008) were not so severe and did not have a significant impact on the standard of living of an ordinary Russian citizen.

Consequently, it can be concluded that the vast majority of Russian society is an indirect accomplice of the policies of Putin and the Kremlin (who elected Putin as president) or a direct accomplice (of the military that is bombing the civilian population of Ukraine today). Therefore, the roots of Russia's aggressive policy must first be sought in Russian society.