HS Gallup | More than half of Finns think that ordinary Russians are responsible for the war

Major some Finns are of the opinion that Finland cannot normalize its relations with Russia as long as the president Vladimir Putin is in power. This is clear from a recent survey commissioned by HS.

A total of 90 percent of Finns agree or partially agree with the statement.

Last week, HS asked citizens a number of questions related to the war in Ukraine and Russia.

Finns opinions are somewhat divided on how Russia should be treated in foreign policy at the moment.

40 percent think that Finland should stop all dealings with Russia. However, a larger part, 47 percent, thinks that Finland should refrain from dealing with everyday matters such as visas.

Only four percent answered that the interaction should continue as widely as possible. Nine percent had no opinion.

More than half Finns think that ordinary Russians are at least somewhat responsible for their country’s war of aggression in Ukraine.

A total of 53 percent of those who responded to HS’s survey think that ordinary citizens are at least somewhat responsible. 18 percent think they are very much responsible, 35 percent think they are somewhat responsible.

On the other hand, almost half of Finns think otherwise. 29 percent think that ordinary Russians bear little responsibility for the war started by their government. 16 percent of Finns think that the Russians are not responsible at all.

Opinions do not vary particularly greatly based on, for example, age or party affiliation. More men than women hold ordinary Russians responsible for the war. In particular, a larger proportion of people over 60 consider ordinary Russians to be guilty than younger people.

Finns the position on Russia’s recent actions is clear. 91 percent of Finns completely disagree that Russia would have had the right to annex parts of Ukraine.

Russian President Putin announced at the end of September, that four Ukrainian provinces have been incorporated into Russia. For example, Finland condemned the announcement sharp. The annexation was preceded by “referendums” organized in the regions, which were widely condemned in Western countries as false and illegal.