What do ordinary Russians think about the war that Vladimir Putin has unleashed on Ukraine? The Kremlin’s justifications: that Ukraine’s leadership has been subjecting ethnic Russians in that country to genocide and that the government in Kyiv is led by neo-Nazis appear far-fetched to most people outside Russia. So does the idea that Russia had to strike first to prevent Ukraine from becoming a springboard for a Nato attack on Russia. But that’s what the Russian people have been told.
Some Russians certainly haven’t accepted these notions and oppose the invasion. Several thousand people have been arrested in cities across the country for participating in protests. And a growing number of respected figures in Russia have made public statements against the war in Ukraine, including celebrities who are using their social media accounts to express their political views.
