Page 38 - RusRPTOct22

In addition, 50.7% of those polled (down 0.1 p.p.) approved of the Russian government’s work, while 51.5% (down 0.3 p.p.) approved of Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin’s endeavours. At the same time, 61.5% of the respondents said they trusted Mishustin (down 1 p.p. over the past week).
Europeans support Ukraine and want to reduce dependence on Russian gas. As of June-July 2022, most Europeans favoured continued support for Ukraine and reducing reliance on Russian energy sources, according to the Eurobarometer public survey. The survey shows that 92% support humanitarian aid, 90% support providing shelter to Ukrainians who travel abroad, and 78% favour economic sanctions against the Russian elite and businesses. Also, 68% of respondents support Ukraine's funding from the European military aid budget. Moreover, 57% of respondents are satisfied with the reaction to Russian aggression against Ukraine at the EU level and 55% at the level of national governments. 86-87% of respondents agree that EU countries must invest more in "green energy" and reduce dependence on Russian gas.
Twice as many people left Russia in the first half of 2022 than during the same period last year as the country faced international isolation over its invasion of Ukraine, according to data released by state statistics agency Rosstat on September 6. A total of 419,000 people departed Russia between January and June compared with 202,000 in the same period the year before, according to Rosstat.
Russian public support for the special military operation in Ukraine has remained persistently high over the past six months and is within a range of 70-73%, according to the results of a poll conducted by the Russian Public Opinion Research Center published on the organization’s website.
On average, 70% of Russians reported that they supported this decision, 18% did not, while 12% were undecided in the August survey.
According to the poll, public opinion on the goals of the special operation has also remained the same: according to 39% of the Russians surveyed in August, the main goal of the special operation is to defend Russia, disarm Ukraine and prevent the deployment of NATO’s military bases. Among other goals of the special operation, the respondents listed defending the residents of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics (20%), changing Ukraine’s political course and purging it of Nazis (17%) and taking over Ukraine and making it part of Russia (7%).
The level of public protest potential has not surpassed 12% since April 2022, while in the beginning of the year it was within 18-21%. The majority (82%) of Russians interviewed in August said that mass protest rallies against the declining quality of life or unfair actions by authorities were not likely in their
38 RUSSIA Country Report October 2022 www.intellinews.com