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Comment by jablongo | Hacker News Reader

All the reporting from (non-kremlin) sources that I've seen say that Putin is quite popular with the average Russian: https://theconversation.com/putins-public-approval-is-soarin....

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You're right: I realised that the Russians I know skew urban and young and are not representative; and Putin seems to have majority approval [1].

Still not sure that changes in attitude will come about by making life more miserable for ordinary Russians; and even if the majority disapproves of Putin, there is not much they can do about it [2].

[1] https://www.levada.ru/en/ratings/

[2] https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/23/world/europe/russia-ukrai...

> And yet there is desperately little that Russians can do to change their country’s trajectory.

1 - russian propaganda. we do not have an institution of social polls, at least real ones

Levada is probably the only one that paints a somewhat realistic picture. They've had their share of problems with the dictator's government because of that.

That's the sad thing about this. They don't know better, rural areas only have tv-propaganda.

Additionally, that report is from 23/02. I believe that opinion should have shifted quite a lot already.

What an arrogant, ignorant comment. Do you seriously think that all those people living different lifestyles to you, who don't live in cities, and believe different things, do so only out of ignorance? If you're an wealthy, urbanite westerner, do you realise that in terms of your belief system, lifestyle, and values, you are such an astonishing minority? What would all those people make of your beliefs? "All he has is his Fox News/CNN propaganda, he doesn't know any better".

TBH, from someone living among them (not Russia, but close), I can't say a single good thing about putler's supporters. This includes many of my own relatives. They have the same internet access we have, but prefer to eat up whatever TV is saying because it makes them comfortable. It's absolutely useless to argue with them or provide any facts, you'll just get nowhere. The propaganda proved to be remarkably effective.

I was brainwashed by Kremlin propaganda and believed in their holy mission until I was about 18 or so. Then I got a proper permanent internet connection and started looking up information from alternative sources. I could not in good conscience support what's been going on in the region since at least 2008.

Now we're basically fucked because of what's happening. Again, I am not from Russia, but our economy will be buried along with theirs because they're highly intertwined. And I'm pretty sure they'll invade us sooner or later.

If he's an American, he doesn't only have Fox News/CNN, he has his pick of any news outlet available to him (approximately all of them) while a Russian's media diet is literally regulated by the government (censorship online and on TV as well as violence against dissidents). What on earth are you talking about?

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