Nine months have now passed since Russian army invaded Ukraine. Vladimir Putin wanted a quick and victorious war – but his soldiers were met with fierce Ukrainian resistance. The Ukrainians are still defending their country, with significant help of the West which stood in solidarity with them. From time to time, Western media predict a fall of Putin’s government, while the media in Russia claim that the society is united around the president and generally supportive of his actions. In the new episode of Cross-Border Talks, we verify these images together with Russian historian and socialist Felix Levin, member of Russian Socialist Movement.
Together with Felix, we discuss Russia’s social, economic and political situation. We try to determine the genuine attitudes of Russian society, and different classes within this society, towards the war in Ukraine, and explain why it is difficult to trust official public opinion polls.
We also examine how a deliberate long-time depoliticization of Russian society now clashes with big politics influencing people’s lives. Our guest explains why most of Russians still intend to live as if nothing happened – and why this would be impossible in a (not that) long perspective.
Other questions we seek answer to: are there some serious signs of rising resistance or protest potential against the war and the regime in Russia? How did the war influence the position of labour? What are the prospects for Russian society in the future?