A record 81% of Russians now support an immediate end to the war in Ukraine, according to a recent survey published by the Institute for Conflictology and Analysis of Russia (IKAR). This figure marks a historic high since the start of the full-scale invasion, signaling a significant shift in public sentiment away from the Kremlin’s narrative of a perpetual war.
The poll, conducted in late May, reveals that the number of Russians who support continuing the war until a “total victory” has dropped to just 9%. Economic concerns are now secondary to the overwhelming desire for peace. Experts at IKAR point out that the war has transformed from a “background event” into the primary source of daily anxiety for the average Russian citizen. This anxiety is fueled by rising inflation, the fear of new mobilization waves, and the increasing visibility of the conflict’s consequences on Russian soil.
Societal resistance to further mobilization is particularly striking: only 11% of respondents favor another round of forced recruitment, while 73% openly oppose it. This internal pressure is exacerbated by the growing effectiveness of long-range drone strikes. In the Moscow region alone, searches for “bomb shelters” and information about “UAVs” on the Yandex search engine have tripled over the past eighteen months. This reflects a growing sense of vulnerability among the urban population, which previously felt shielded from the realities of the war.
Furthermore, the Russian public is showing increased pushback against domestic internet censorship. A significant majority oppose restrictions on platforms like Telegram and the introduction of restrictive “whitelists” for websites. This suggests that the Kremlin’s efforts to control the narrative are clashing with the public’s need to maintain their accustomed digital lifestyle. As search engine queries for “when will the war end” hit an all-time peak of over 137,000 in a single week, it is clear that the Russian government is losing its grip on the domestic information space.
The data indicates that while the regime remains in power, the social contract is fraying. The combination of economic strain, the psychological impact of drone attacks, and the fear of mobilization has eroded support for the war. For the average Russian, the desire for a return to normalcy is now overshadowing state-driven nationalist rhetoric, setting a precarious stage for the regime’s future stability.