Page 27 - RusRPTSept22

success but the very fact that Russia stepped up, threw down the gauntlet, and the gauntlet was picked up. It is possible, of course, that in the future the cited figures will soar even more if the propagandists claim outstanding victories on the part of Russia, or they will go down if some discouraging news is widely disseminated. But for now, Russians are collectively experiencing a feeling of satisfaction that the world has been put into the order that they have long desired. In such a euphoric mood, no one thinks about the way the country or their family will survive, about their job or salary. People are happy and positive: everything will somehow work out, since Russia is such a tough cookie that the whole world trembles before it.
We cannot predict whether such a mental frame will last long. It seems very shaky despite its grandiosity. But let us not forget that a similar frame has ensured an approval rating of at least 60% for Putin’s actions as President of the Russian Federation for more than two decades. Over time, he has discovered how to effectively engage with Russians’ mass consciousness and has been building his foreign policy in line with certain mass perceptions and stereotypes. There are other semantic units in the mass consciousness which could serve as fundamentals for a very different policy. But Putin has used those which are also in line with the interests of the elites he has surrounded himself with.
Readers who are already aware of or have suspected all that has been said here will not find our story comforting. Well, Russian intellectuals have more than once had to grieve when they discovered that they were a ‘far cry from the people’. But we know for sure — both from history and from our research — that the time will come when the mass consciousness will turn to those ideals which these underrepresented readers are now struggling to preserve.
Alexey Levinson is Head of Sociocultural Research at Levada Center and a Professor at Moscow Higher School of Economics This article first appeared in Riddle here. Riddle is an independent media outlet focusing on independent analysis of Russia and a bne IntelliNews media partner. Follow on Twitter @RiddleRussia
2.9 Visa ban on Russians entering Europe under discussion
The politicians of the Baltic countries and Finland began to actively talk about the ban on entry into the EU for Russian citizens since the end of July. But the topic reached its maximum resonance this week. There were two reasons for this.
Firstly, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke out in favour of a ban on Russians from entering Europe, and quite radically. In a long interview announced by The Washington Post, Zelensky said that Western countries should completely close the borders to Russians, regardless of their political position.
“Then they will understand. They will say, "We have nothing to do with this war. Can't the entire population be held responsible?" Maybe. They chose this
27 RUSSIA Country Report September 2022 www.intellinews.com