Reader opinion Herd behavior does not explain the Russians’ views on the war

Belief in the effects of radical deeds is low.

Jukka Ruukki suggested in his column (HS 28.3) that we can understand the “silence of the Russian people” over the war in Ukraine through herd behavior. Referring to psychological experiments, Ruukki wrote that the “passivity” of the Russians is explained by a person’s desire to agree with others.

Psychological experimentation plays an important role in understanding human behavior, but the ability of experiments detached from the social context to explain Russians ’attitudes to war is limited. The writing reflects much broader problematic ways of describing Russians as incapable of independent thinking.

Ruukki wrote that “the better a lie sinks the higher it is told”, so “when Putin speaks, it must be true”. A descriptive counter-argument to this is Russia’s vaccination coverage during the coronavirus pandemic: in May 2021, more than 60 percent of Russians were unwilling to take the Sputnik vaccine, despite Putin’s active advocacy. Thus, the opposite conclusion would be possible: flagging those in power for vaccination was more of a cause for suspicion for many.

For example, work and family are in the horizontal cup.

Is it is important to understand the principles of the Russian propaganda machinery: as Peter Pomerantsev and many scholars familiar with the Russian media point out, unlike in the Soviet Union, state propaganda in the 21st century has not nurtured faith in “one truth” maintained through censorship. On the contrary, propaganda plays with a large number of different versions of the truth, with the intention of confusing and questioning the possibility of objective information. Thus, state propaganda actively exploits the concept of information warfare and the idea that manipulating information to further political ends is normal practice. Even if many Russians are critical of those in power and refuse to watch state channels, this does not mean that Western news sources are considered more reliable.

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The Russians hardly skip the protests because of their herd spirit, but because there are work, family, and imprisonment for years in the balance. Moreover, belief in the effects of radical deeds is low: the idea that ordinary Russians are taking over the streets and overthrowing the government in a situation where power is centralized and opposition action has been made impossible is abstract.

In Russia there is a lot of poverty and the economic situation is even more challenging after the pandemic. Many Russians are now somehow trying to secure their families’ livelihoods and once again adapt to a crisis that is perceived to be completely beyond their control.

Taking such factors into account is important so that we can appreciate both the courage of the Russians who openly oppose the war in their homeland and to understand the majority, whose experiences are far more contradictory than the idea of ​​herd behavior or brainwashing suggests.

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Roosa Rytkönen

dissertation researcher

University of Manchester, United Kingdom

Reader opinions are speeches written by HS readers, selected and delivered by HS’s editorial staff. You can leave a comment or read the principles of writing at www.hs.fi/kirjtamielipidekirjoitus/.

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