this post was submitted on 19 Mar 2026
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[–] UnspecificGravity@piefed.social 10 points 2 hours ago (2 children)

Like 70% of Russians support the war in Ukraine and escalation of force to meet their strategic goals for a negotiated peace: https://theconversation.com/as-war-in-ukraine-enters-a-5th-year-will-the-putin-consensus-among-russians-hold-275666

By contrast about 27% of Americans support the current US attacks on Iran: https://www.reuters.com/world/us/just-one-four-americans-support-us-strikes-iran-reutersipsos-poll-finds-2026-03-01/

[–] Mistic@lemmy.world 8 points 1 hour ago* (last edited 1 hour ago) (1 children)

Ask people if they're for or against something that the government is doing in a country where you're not allowed to go against the government and you get the result of the majority agreeing? Shocker. That's like asking, "Are you a traitor or not?" Of course they're answering "no."

That's the same issue explained in the article you're citing. You have to look at questions that aren't direct.

Like other data from Levada (that your source is citing as a source for those 70%).

(BTW, the 70% aren't answering "are you for or against the war"? They're answering, "Do you support the army?" And we kinda have a law that doesn't really allow to say "no" to that Edit: and, that's also mentioned in the article)

Should Russia continue the war or start peace talks? (2026)

  • 61% peace talks
  • 30% continue war

Peace talks people have been the majority for almost the entirety of this "special military operation" (there's only 1 month in 2023 where it wasn't the case)

The number of people who want peace talks has also been steadily increasing. That's the consensus. The majority wants it to stop.

The 70% you're speaking of consists of 2 groups:

  1. The pro-war people
  2. The "yes" people

The first group is estimated at about 25-30%, these are the actual people who support the invasion, although recently, they seem to have become increasingly dissatisfied with the results and the government.

The second group will agree with everything that seems to fit the position of the government. They don't have an actual opinion. They're kind of like sheep: they're just trying to survive. Those are the people who take the stance of propaganda, and they are the reason propaganda works in the first place. That's ~40%

The group who is openly against war is estimated at about 15-25%, although its much more difficult to gauge it considering they are thought to be much less likely to answer questionnaires due to the risk of political prosecution.

[–] UnspecificGravity@piefed.social -3 points 1 hour ago (1 children)

You are literally arguing that the only numbers that count out of Russia are the ones that agree with your position. Either polling from Russia is real or it isn't. You don't get it both ways.

[–] Mistic@lemmy.world 3 points 1 hour ago* (last edited 1 hour ago) (1 children)

Read it carefully:

Are you pro-Russia or not?

The answer's going to be "pro-Russia"

Are you pro war or peace?

The answer is going to be "peace"

The wording is extremely important. I'm not saying the polling is fake, I'm not saying that results are wrong.

I'm saying that you need to look at the question and really think what it's about.

Mind you, my source, and your source's source is literally the same Levada. The same series of questions. The same numbers.

[–] UnspecificGravity@piefed.social 0 points 1 hour ago (1 children)

Again. You are arguing that the "wording is extremely important" but then misrepresent what the question actually was. Can you at least pretend to argue in good faith or is this all you have?

[–] Mistic@lemmy.world 2 points 52 minutes ago* (last edited 47 minutes ago)

Then explain how exactly am I misinterpreting it?

And why is your interpretation better? Considering your source failed to mention the question and falsely attributed it to "special military operation" support (I explained how that's incorrect in the first comment)

Also, explain how am I arguing in bad faith? I'm trying to explain my position, yet you aren't giving me yours, choosing to essentially only say that I'm wrong.

[–] PugJesus@piefed.social 7 points 2 hours ago (2 children)

On one hand, I might dispute the precision of that 70%, considering the terror that Russian people live in of their government.

On the other hand, I wouldn't disagree in general terms.

Also, it's 27% in the USA? Fuck's sake, I'm surprised even MAGA is that fucking stupid. I guess we really aren't getting any lower than that for absolute unquestioning support for fascism.

[–] ryathal@sh.itjust.works 7 points 2 hours ago

27% is actually pretty low considering there's about 30% that support Trump through anything.

[–] UnspecificGravity@piefed.social 2 points 2 hours ago (1 children)

I'm fairly certain that a solid 30% of Americans are fully prepared to openly identify as some combination of deliberately evil and/or stupid.

As long as it irritates liberals. They have forgotten leftists exist

[–] RickyRigatoni@piefed.zip 4 points 2 hours ago

Fuck america and russia 😳

[–] balderdash9@lemmy.zip 24 points 4 hours ago (2 children)

I was writing a long comment about US immoral wars, economic sanctions, and CIA political assassination attempts on democratically elected leaders but what's the point. I am just so fucking tired of my own country. It is baffling that there are still people who are proud to be American.

[–] sad_detective_man@sopuli.xyz 7 points 3 hours ago (1 children)

The last bastion of belief I had in this place was the idea that it responded to attempts to improve it and no matter what we did in the past we could make it better for people now.

I think the more optimistic a person is the more prone they are to going the exact same distance the other direction when they realize the nature of things. Whatever that toxic character trait is called that is what mine is.

[–] PugJesus@piefed.social 2 points 3 hours ago

The last bastion of belief I had in this place was the idea that it responded to attempts to improve it and no matter what we did in the past we could make it better for people now.

"To make a more perfect union..."

That was the dream.

I think the more optimistic a person is the more prone they are to going the exact same distance the other direction when they realize the nature of things. Whatever that toxic character trait is called that is what mine is.

There's a phrase/concept for it that I can't remember or find, and it's driving me crazy.

I refuse to yield the name America to the United States. It belongs to the whole damn continent.

[–] LibertyLizard@slrpnk.net 18 points 4 hours ago (2 children)

Definitely not my first time, unfortunately.

[–] RickyRigatoni@piefed.zip 3 points 2 hours ago

We just have dogshit public memory.

[–] PugJesus@piefed.social 11 points 4 hours ago (2 children)

With Iraq, most people were in favor at the time. This time, even that much can't be said, as the notion of war with Iran is immensely unpopular on both sides of the aisle.

[–] LibertyLizard@slrpnk.net 6 points 3 hours ago* (last edited 3 hours ago) (1 children)

I was younger during Iraq but I definitely remember ordinary people speaking out. It was mainly the media and politicians that made it seem so unanimous. I have a distinct memory of a friend sharing a meme criticizing the case for the invasion and not really understanding it.

Even though I didn't vote for dubya, I did have a similar feeling with Obama and his foreign policy. Not sure how much people remember but he positioned himself as a bit of an anti-war candidate initially.

[–] PugJesus@piefed.social 4 points 3 hours ago (1 children)

I was younger during Iraq but I definitely remember ordinary people speaking out.

Unfortunately, I remember polling.

Even though I didn’t vote for dubya, I did have a similar feeling with Obama and his foreign policy. Not sure how much people remember but he positioned himself as a bit of an anti-war candidate initially.

To my memory, he was anti-Iraq War and pro-Afghanistan War, and pursued a foreign policy consistent with that. It would have been strange if he had opted not to assist in Libya after our allies had already involved themselves in a civil war against a dictator; and the plan was to 'pivot' to a defensive position reinforcing allies in Asia (Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam) rather than intensifying interventionism, while decreasing the defense budget. Unfortunately, the whole ISIS mess started while that process was ongoing. He still managed to reduce the defense budget - a feat not seen since.

[–] LibertyLizard@slrpnk.net 4 points 3 hours ago

38 to 57 is far from unanimous. I'm just saying there were millions who opposed it from the beginning, but the media and congress made it seem like a tiny fringe position.

[–] ThePantser@sh.itjust.works 8 points 4 hours ago (1 children)

Sure it's so unpopular that they keep refusing to vote on stopping him. It's not unpopular if they keep letting him do it.

[–] AppleTea@lemmy.zip 2 points 2 hours ago

Well, unpopular with the public. Popular with congress. A lot of Dem criticism amounts to, "he's doing the thing we want done incompetently!"

[–] I_Has_A_Hat@lemmy.world 6 points 3 hours ago (1 children)

I'd like to give a sincere apology to every Russian I judged based on the actions of their country. Until the last few years, I truly did not appreciate the muted hell you were all living in, as well as the deep sense of apathy that comes from decades of watching things continue to get shittier and more corrupt while incompetence and propaganda crush every movement that tries to stop it.

I fully understand now how a large swath of the population can just give up and accept whatever horse shit they're served, not because they necessarily agree with it, but because they are so tired of trying to fight against it and losing every time.

[–] HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world 4 points 1 hour ago* (last edited 1 hour ago)

I cannot tell you how many times my mother has said "I wish I could be conservative and a good person at the same time" in the last few years. We grew up in a cult where liberal=Satan

[–] AppleTea@lemmy.zip -2 points 2 hours ago (1 children)

Really got the roles swapped on this one.

[–] PugJesus@piefed.social 2 points 2 hours ago (1 children)

An unsurprising response from someone who bootlicks for Russian imperialism in Ukraine.

[–] AppleTea@lemmy.zip -1 points 2 hours ago (1 children)

Buddy, the invasion of Ukraine is a bad thing, but I can also recognize that my country literally set the legal precedent Putin cited to the UN when he started it.

[–] PugJesus@piefed.social 3 points 2 hours ago (1 children)

You argue that Ukraine is a puppet of the West and spread misinformation about Ukraine being 'forced' by the West not to negotiate after the massacres at Bucha were revealed, to my memory. Obviously, those poor helpless Ukrainians would have chosen to submit to genocide if it only wasn't for the West making them stay in the fight! Please ignore that the West initially offered Zelenskyy evacuation, giving up on the notion of defending Ukraine before it began, and it was only the choice of the Ukrainian people to continue that caused Western aid to enter at all.

And the idea that Putin offered any serious legal precedent for the invasion of Ukraine is fucking nonsense.

[–] AppleTea@lemmy.zip 0 points 1 hour ago* (last edited 1 hour ago)

Of course citing article 51 is an un-serious legal justification for invading Ukraine. Just as it was when cited for the invasions of Vietnam and Iraq.

Ukraine isn't a puppet, they aren't being forced. That's your framing of what you claim is my position, not what I've ever said. They're doing the rational thing, given the circumstances. But the US is not supporting them out of some principled stance against invading sovereign countries. Multiple people across both the Biden and Trump governments have said, our goal in the region is to exhaust Russian military capacity.