The most fascinating Russian story today is not about Presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump. Rather, it is that ordinary Russians no longer want to live behind the walls of a “besieged fortress” fighting an endless war with the west.
In June last year, an opinion poll conducted by the Levada Center, an independent research organisation, reported that 59 per cent of Russians believed that the priority of Russian foreign policy should be to guarantee their country’s “peaceful and secure existence”. Only 19 per cent supported “containment of the west and the US”, while 14 per cent wanted Russia to expand its “influence in the world”.
This sentiment appears to be hardening. This month, again according to Levada polling, 68 per cent of Russians supported rapprochement with the west (with 21 per cent supporting the idea of Russia keeping its distance).