"Cancel Culture": Putin-Medium celebrates survey in Russia - but the data raises questions
Created: 12/29/2022, 12:59 p.m
By: Florian Naumann
Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg at the end of December – apparently the Russians don't want to do without Western culture in the big cities.
© IMAGO/Alexei Danichev
The Kremlin sees itself “cancelled” by the West in a kind of culture war.
The Russians seem to agree - but draw remarkable conclusions.
Moscow/Munich – “Cancel culture” is now an often invoked (fighting) term in Germany too – mostly used as a reproach when, in the opinion of the critics, socio-political positions are not given sufficient space.
A state-run Russian opinion research institute understood the matter in the Ukraine war in a particularly special way: it asked people in Russia about the West's "cancel culture" against the country.
The results have now been published.
They look absolutely amazing.
"More than half of Russians believe 'Cancel Culture' should be cancelled," headlined the state news agency Tass on Wednesday (December 28).
What should probably be read as a clear vote in the culture war with the West postulated by Vladimir Putin does not read that clearly on closer inspection.
"Canceled"?
Russians think measures unnecessary – few see blow to 'everything Russian'
53 percent of respondents believe that Vladimir Putin's government should "change the attitude towards Russia and resist the cancel culture," Tass noted, citing the study by the All-Russia Public Opinion Research Center (WCIOM).
In April, however, it was still 60 percent.
At the same time, it said that 89 percent of Russians are aware that Russian "scientists, cultural workers, musicians and students" would have experienced sanctions in 2022.
A significantly higher value than the 53 percent who called for countermeasures.
30 percent of respondents even stated that Russia should not take any steps to solve the problem.
The pollsters' question about the meaning of the word "cancel culture" also received very mixed answers - a general attitude towards being a victim in the struggle surrounding the Ukraine war could not be deduced.
According to the survey, 24 percent of those aware of the "sanctions" associated the "cancellation" with individual exclusion.
Only 21 percent associated it with ignoring Russian culture, only 9 percent with silencing “everything Russian” – the Kremlin seems to want to suggest this again and again.
According to Tass, 1,600 adults across Russia had been interviewed.
Russia in the Ukraine war: no measures against cancellation?
Russians were quite “worried”
The interpretation of the results seems complex, especially since the study - unlike a previous survey - was not initially available in English.
Apparently, Russians are aware of the West's negative attitude towards the country's policies.
The report did not say whether they consider countermeasures to be inappropriate out of understanding for the sanctions, are simply not interested in the West or do not believe in the success of Russian answers.
However, a survey from June could give a hint: According to the institute, 53 percent of the participants were "concerned" about the "exclusion of Russian culture" in the West - especially women and cultural workers.
As many as 73 percent spoke out against banning Western culture from everyday life in Russia.
According to the pollsters, it was 80 percent among the highly educated and residents of Moscow and St. Petersburg.
In an interview with
Merkur.de
, an expert attested to the Russian youth above all “apathy” and fear.
Putin in poll: No absolute majority for his party
In mid-December, the WCIOM also published current figures on Russian citizens' trust in politics.
74 percent of those surveyed allegedly expressed confidence in the office of Russian President - that is, in Vladimir Putin.
When freely naming the most trustworthy actors, 78 percent mentioned the head of the Kremlin.
Dmitry Medvedev was mentioned by 34 percent of respondents.
Meanwhile, Putin's United Russia party did not get an absolute majority of 37 percent in Sunday's question.
However, the Russian electoral system does not directly reflect the percentage of election results in mandates.
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