According to the survey, only 34% of Russians would support President Vladimir Putin if he decided to end the invasion and return occupied territories to Ukraine. However, 70% of respondents said they would support Putin’s decision to end the invasion of Ukraine without returning territories.
Bit of a tangent, but I studied this stuff at university.
I saw a few polls, where they asked a similarly or even more controversial question.
IRC what they did is asked respondents to roll a dice without showing it to the interviewer, then answer a question by adding 0 or 1 to that number.
You can't prove which answer the respondent picked. They could have answered no (0) and rolled a 5, they could have answered yes (1) and rolled a 4. Rolling a 4 or a 5 are equally likely outcomes.
But for the group, you know what the average dice roll is, how probable each roll is, and how often you're likely to see each roll coming up, so you can tell which answer was chosen more.
Why do people think that most Russians don’t support Putin or want to do right by Ukraine? How would they explain Russia’s history of always having dictators at the helm? Is it bad luck spanning centuries?
At first I don't belief in the reliability of such surveys. They come mostly in the form of suggestive questions, allowing only a Yes or No as an answer. The organizers of this surveys design their questions in a manner that their agenda will be confirmed.
The second thing is the recipients of the survey. They live under a half- fascist government that is known for punishing unwanted opinions. I once heard the story that people in russia only participate in such surveys because they have the chance to tell the interviewer of local problems - in the naive hope Putin will hear it somehow and care for it LOL so they have an interest to appear as obedient citicens.
While I don't think that russians will stand up against Putin en masse, and won't do this in case of a defeat neither, i don't think that the majority of russians is actively "supporting" him. They may still assume that he is the least hurtful option, and at least brings no change. At least not for the urban population of moscow or petrograd.
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