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by WhatsTheBigIdea 880 days ago
"Independent Polling" of people living under a repressive regime appears to be 100% impossible to me.

Yet the idea that such a thing exists seems widespread?

Can anyone here explain how independent polling under a repressive regime can be accomplished? Please educate me/us!
2 comments
libertine 880 days ago
> "Independent Polling" of people living under a repressive regime appears to be 100% impossible to me.

In Russia, it seems to be promoted a culture of ratting those who are against the government, which is also very common in these regimes - and that has a very deep scarring in societies that go over it.

I'm from Portugal and to this day there's still a cultural undertone of not ratting anyone to authorities, even if it is something that's hurting you or everyone, all because of the disgust and hate towards those who ratted people to the government police.

During our dictatorships, there were also the same theatrical displays of polling, voting, having opposing candidates approved by the state, etc. Salazar was always the man of course.

It's impressive that Russia still hasn't had its societal reform away from dictatorships in the XXI century. Sadly we're now paying the consequences of it, but it might be closer than we think!

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denton-scratch 880 days ago
https://www.levada.ru/en/about-us/

They explain their methodology, and discuss things like what kind of questions tend to result in respondents terminating the interview.

I don't know how independent they really are; but I haven't seen evidence that they are effectively state-controlled.

If they are independent, then presumably it's true that most Russians are nationalists and Putinists. That doesn't seem implausible; as far as I can tell, a majority of voters in the USA are nationalists and Trumpists.

I've never visited a country while it was under the fist of a dictator. And in a way, Russia is special; in Russian history, autocracy and tyranny have been a constant, except for the ten years after the collapse of the CCCP. Those ten years were miserable for Russians, so it would be unsurprising if they feel safer and more comfortable with autocracy and tyranny.

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