Vladimir Putin, Russia, and public opinion in times of war | No. 185 – February 27, 2022

The Russian people do not appear to support Putin's war to occupy Ukraine

In 1942, George Gallup — still fresh in his transformation from an advertising researcher in New York to a political pollster — gave an address to the American Philosophical Society titled “How Important is Public Opinion In Time of War?”

“The arguments against public opinion polling in such a period have been recited often,” Gallup wrote. “The citizens of a country know little about military strategy… they know little about military needs… they do not appreciate the complexity of problems of organizing man power and natural resources. What is to be gained, therefore, in listening to their views on society?”

Gallup objected. Based on polls his company, the American Institute of Public Opinion (AIPO), had been conducting since 1935, Gallup asserted he could “answer the question of whether public opinion should be listened to as eagerly in time of war as in time of peace.” He listed off the apparent victories for the public, each underlining his broader point that a majority of the publ…