Apr 2, 2022 - World

Russians rally to Putin, who hits 83% approval

Axios

A theater in Moscow displays a giant "Z" in the black and orange of the Saint George's ribbon. — A theater in Moscow displays a giant "Z" in the black and orange of the Saint George's ribbon — symbolizing support for the war in Ukraine. Photo: Konstantin Zavrazhin/Getty Images

Polls and interviews show many Russians now accept the Kremlin’s assertion that their country is under siege from the West, the New York Times reports.

Driving the news: Polls released this week by Russia’s most respected independent pollster, Levada, put Russian President Vladimir Putin's approval rating at 83%, up from 69% in January.

81% said they supported the war, citing the "need to protect Russian speakers as its primary justification," per the Times.
"Opponents are leaving the country or keeping quiet," The Times notes.
Entertainment shows on television have been replaced by propaganda.

Between the lines: Moscow signals it's ready for a prolonged war: "Many Ukrainian officials and military analysts think the conflict is likely to drag on for months, or longer," The Wall Street Journal reports.

"Putin’s Ukraine quagmire": The Washington Post's Griff Witte points to echoes of Soviet failure in Afghanistan, 1979-89: "Moscow appears to have underestimated its adversary this time, just as it did then."

Milton Bearden, a CIA station chief in Pakistan during the Soviet war, writes for Foreign Affairs in "Putin's Afghanistan": "In setting out to reverse history, [Putin] may instead be repeating it."

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Russians rally to Putin, who hits 83% approval

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