While support for Putin’s threats resounded in pro-war venues, some Russians reacted with worry, gallows humour and apathy to the suggestions of striking the West.
The day after President Vladimir Putin raised the stakes in tensions with the West, many Russians awoke Friday feeling anxious that the prospect of nuclear war had come slightly closer.
“This topic used to be a taboo in Russia,” said Denis Volkov, the director of the Levada Center, one of the few independent pollsters in Russia. “Within the elites, the consensus is shifting toward talking about it much more openly, and that Russia should make the West understand that it is serious.”
Though almost half the Russians surveyed in a poll this year found the use of nuclear weapons “unacceptable,” there has been a slight increase since last year in the number who consider it acceptable, to 34 per cent, Volkov said. He did not discount that after Putin’s latest speech and the breathless media coverage that followed, that number could rise further.Support for nuclear force dovetails with support for the Kremlin, Volkov said.
The threat of expanding the conflict beyond Russia and Ukraine and possibly using nuclear weapons seemed to fall on fertile ground: the apathy and helplessness that have gripped many Russians since the invasion began.Ksenia Sobchak, a prominent media personality whose father was Putin’s boss in the 1990s, summed up the sentiment on Telegram with gallows humour: “He didn’t say if they will use nukes or not.
Russian state media, which has always been sensitive about Western press coverage of Russia, also portrayed Putin’s remarks as a public relations victory. On Friday, a lot of programming was devoted to a detailed press digest, citing news reports from the United States to Saudi Arabia and boasting that the president won front pages around the world.
In popular social media groups typically focused on local news, Russians weighed in on Putin’s speech, with some condemning his apparent appetite for escalation and others cheering on Russia’s army.
Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
With memes and in state media, many Russians cheer on Putin’s nuclear threatsWhile support for Putin’s threats resounded in pro-war venues, some Russians reacted with worry, gallows humour and apathy to the suggestions of striking the West.
Read more »
Russians behind fake video of ballots being destroyed, US officials sayRecent video purportedly showing a man destroying ballots marked for Trump is a disinformation campaign, say officials
Read more »
‘Blood alliance’: why South Korea fears North’s involvement in Ukraine warNews that troops from North Korea could be joining Russians on the battlefield in Ukraine has caused deep concern in Seoul
Read more »
‘They want to show no one can escape’: how the long arm of Russia is reaching out for Putin critics in exileMoscow is using ties with neighbouring countries to deport and arrest anti-war Russians who fled after invasion of Ukraine
Read more »
Ukraine war briefing: Up to 11,000 North Koreans in Kursk, say Pentagon and ZelenskyyEurope not doing enough about foreign power taking part, says Ukrainian president; Sloviansk woman gets 15 years’ jail for treasonous aid to Russians. What we know on day 986
Read more »
Ukraine war briefing: Russia’s offensive ‘shows signs of escalation’, Kyiv’s top commander warnsOleksandr Syrskyi says North Korean troops are preparing to join combat alongside Russians as EU foreign policy chief pledges ‘unwavering’ support for Ukraine. What we know on day 991
Read more »