While the level of declarative support for the 'Special Military Operation' (SMO) among respondents remains at previous levels, attention to the military action and concern about the Ukrainian counteroffensive have reached historical lows, according to the results of the latest survey by the Levada Center.

The debate about the ideological nature of Putin's regime ultimately hinges on an understanding of what ‘ideology’ actually is. If one considers ideology as a coherent system of concepts with strong mobilisation potential, creating a forward-looking utopian perspective and outlining principles for achieving a goal, as was characteristic of the totalitarian ideologies of the 20th-century, then it must be acknowledged that Russian kleptocratic authoritarianism lacks such an ideology.

Although respondents' declarative support for SVO remains at previous levels, attention to military action and concern about the Ukrainian counter-offensive have reached historical lows, according to the results of the latest Levada Center poll.

The politicized version of history finally became the core of the new ideology of the current Russian regime and the disciplining frame of loyalty to it after the start of the war with Ukraine. The first attempts to introduce official ideology based on Orthodoxy and traditional values ​​fell in the mid-2010s and did not imply its obligation and forced exclusion of groups with other value-based attitudes.

The discussion about the ideological nature of the Putin regime ultimately rests on the understanding of what “ideology” is.