Ukraine crisis: Russians opposed to Putin

[steve2470]

http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-26531310

11 March 2014 Last updated at 20:47 ET

In an emotional speech in Kiev on Sunday, former Russian oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky - recently released from 10 years in jail - told the Maidan "there is another Russia", one opposed to military action in Ukraine. Russian writer and broadcaster Andrei Ostalski agrees but says it's a small and embattled community.

On 2 March, one day after the Upper Chamber of the Russian parliament passed a motion allowing President Putin to use Russia's armed forces anywhere on Ukrainian territory, a Muscovite decided to stage a one-man protest. He knew it was a rather risky affair as the streets were full of "patriotically" minded people rejoicing and celebrating the prospect of a quick victorious war against their neighbour.

Nevertheless, Alexei Sokirko found a place on the pavement on Nikolskaya Street and unfolded his "Stop the war" banner.

Russian law allows one-man pickets to be staged without prior permission or advance notification so the police didn't do anything at first. In fact, they didn't need to as Alexei immediately started getting harassed by angry passers-by. To begin with they called him "fascist" and "scum". Then a woman spat at him. A few men started threatening him, and finally one of them snatched the banner from his hands and tore it up.

[musical_soul]

1. I do believe a lot of Russians oppose this.

I've always felt badly for them that they live with this tyrant.

[Igel]

2. I have no sense of public opinion.

Polls are biased, whether Aksenov's or Putin's. I don't even know if the Levada Center is still up and running; they used to have fairly good polls, interested more in accuracy than in outcome.

I'd ideally like any poll to discriminate between those against Russian intervention in Crimea and those against intervention in Ukraine sensu stricto. I'd like to see discrimination between those opposed on principle or moral grounds and those opposed because they'd think it would hurt them, between those opposed on principle and those opposed because it would hurt Russia's international prestige. Just being "for" or "against" isn't enough to gauge the character of the opposition or proponents. If most base their opinion in how it would affect prestige, then a simple argument showing it would increase/decrease prestige could make a big difference. If it's a moral or ethical principle at stake, that would be harder to change--and if the moral principle is "Russia must be dominant because Russians are superior" then it bodes well for the future of fascism in Eastern Europe.