Bryn Rosenfeld, assistant professor of government, is part of a team of researchers following Russian public opinion through surveys about the West, NATO, and other foreign policy topics. In an op-ed in the Washington Post, Rosenfeld and colleagues share four things to know about how ordinary Russians view Putin and the events unfolding in Ukraine.
“The White House just warned that there is a ‘distinct possibility’ that Russia will invade Ukraine in a ‘very swift time frame.’ More than 100,000 Russian troops are now massed near Ukraine on three sides,” Rosenfeld and co-authors write in the piece. “But what does the Russian public think about armed intervention in Ukraine? … Our new polling data suggests that invading Ukraine could be a difficult sell within Russia.”
