Nuance in the fog: Plumbing for honesty in Russian opinion polls

Thirteen months on, Russian polls continue to show very high levels of public support for both the war in Ukraine and its architect, Russian President Vladimir Putin. That poll data is routinely deployed by the Russian media to confirm the Kremlin narrative, and also seems to be widely accepted in the West.

But is it accurate?

That’s what Russia’s community of sociologists, both outside and inside the country, are struggling to determine.

Recent surveys show 72% fully or partially “,” while a near all-time high of . Few Russian sociologists, even those in exile or who identify as opposition-minded, are openly challenging these results, especially the findings of the independent Levada Center, which continues to operate despite being by the