Russians largely split about new campaign to destroy Western food imports, though support is higher among the poor

Forty-two percent of Russians say they support the destruction of products imported into the country in circumvention of Moscow's current sanctions against the West, according to a recent national survey by the Public Opinion Foundation (FOM). Only 38 percent of the country openly oppose this policy, while another 20 percent of people say they are undecided. An overwhelming 70 percent of Russians express support for the sanctions against the West, levied in response to the West's own sanctions against Russia, following Moscow's annexation of Crimea and intervention in eastern Ukraine.

The strongest support for Russia's current campaign to destroy illegally imported Western food exists in the country's poorest areas, in small towns and villages, where income is relatively lower. In bigger cities and among the more affluent citizens, support for the policy of destroying food imports is significantly lower.

The full text of FOM's study can be found (in Russian) here.

• On July 29, President Putin signed an executive decree ordering the destruction of sanctioned food imports. His order, however, is short on details about how exactly officials are meant to carry out this massive undertaking. As a result, various state actors and agencies have used all manner of available resources to burn, bulldoze, and bury hundreds of tons of boycotted food. On August 18, the Attorney General launched a hotline for reporting the import or retail of illicit food products.
• According to Russian border officials, the federal government has already succeeded in destroying dozens of tons of contraband food, since the start of the new policy.