Patriotic disunity: limits to popular support for militaristic policy in Russia

This article considers the pervasiveness of military themes in the state’s framing of Russianness, and explores the strengths and weaknesses of militaristic means to enhance social consensus. Based on existing research and new survey data, it emphasizes the stratification of support for militaristic policy in the Russian population. The author argues that militarism cannot alleviate the growing dissatisfaction with the Putin regime in major cities or among youth. It also fails to unify Moscow with the countryside. Women are more sceptical than men, and higher education seems to undermine supportive attitudes. In consideration of this stratification of support, militaristic policies may in fact underscore important social and ideological cleavages in Russian society, rather than bridging them.