Russians Increasingly Reluctant to Fight for Their Country: Poll

Russians have become increasingly reluctant to fight for their country, according to new polling.

Data gathered by Gallup, published on March 11, found that in Russia, 32 percent say they are prepared to go to war for their country if needed—down from 59 percent a decade ago.

The U.S. multinational analytics and advisory company asked countries worldwide to answer the question: “If there were a war that involved (YOUR COUNTRY), would you be willing to fight for your country?”

The poll found that 20 percent of respondents in Russia were not willing to fight for their country, and 48 percent replied that they “don’t know.”

“But note this question was asked in a country where opposition to the war is a crime,” Gallup said. This refers to legislation passed by Russian Parliament in March 2022 imposing jail terms of up to 15 years for intentionally spreading “fake” news about Russia’s army. Newsweek has contacted the Russian Foreign Ministry for comment by email.

The Kremlin has used the law to crack down on those who veer away from Russian President Vladimir Putin’s narrative of the war, and many are believed to answer public opinion polls on the topic dishonestly, fearing retribution.

The publication of the Gallup poll comes shortly after the two-year anniversary of the Ukraine war, which began when Putin launched a full-scale invasion of the country in February 2022.

Gallup said a total of 46,138 persons were interviewed globally. “In each country a representative sample of around 1000 men and women was interviewed during October-December 2023 either face to face, via telephone or online,” it added. “The margin of error for the survey is between +3-5% at 95% confidence level.”

Public support for the conflict has dropped significantly, previously polling suggests.

In November 2023, a poll by Russia’s Levada Center, an independent research organization based in Moscow, found that 70 percent of Russians would support Putin, should he decide to end the conflict. The Levada Center surveyed 1,608 people across Russia from October 19 to October 25.

However, if ending the war would include Russia returning the territories that it has occupied and annexed throughout the conflict, only 34 percent of respondents said they would support that decision, the poll found.

The possibility of a peace agreement being reached between Ukraine and Russia has been raised on numerous occasions. Last month, Putin indicated a peace deal was still possible when he was interviewed by former Fox News host Tucker Carlson in Moscow.

Moscow has specified a few conditions that are non-negotiable, including that Kyiv must accept the September 2022 annexation of four of its regions—Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia—following referendums called by Putin that were deemed illegal by the international community.

Meanwhile, Ukraine has said that any peace deal must invalidate those annexations, and that Crimea, which Putin annexed in 2014, must be returned to the country.

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