Russians Have No Opinions

In the '70s, it was the "force" that was strong.

Now it is the ennui.  No one really cares.

While researchers want to find out the state of public opinion, the main problem is that it simply does not exist. And worse, in the absence of any opinion at all, the survey assumes the existence of an informed citizen who knows of the most important political events, and is able and, most importantly, willing to form its own assessment of what is happening.

The overwhelming majority of people refuse to answer sociologists simply because they have no opinion about the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, or indeed about any significant socio-political issue. Russia has developed an apolitical and atomized society that reacts only to events that directly affect individuals’ personal, family, or professional lives.