Popular conservatisms and the structure of Russian society

Abstract

The literature on Russia’s conservative turn focuses on the state program to embed conservative values in a top-down process of narrative construction that links shared history, lived experiences, and events. Relying on the unique LegitRuss survey evidence collected in 2021, we complement this research by exploring how values-based cleavages structure Russian society, bind distinct social groups, and reflect congruence between the Kremlin’s conservative messaging and popular political attitudes. The results show that values do define groups in society and that conservatives constitute a majority in Russian society. Yet, state conservatives are internally divided around a spectrum of conservative beliefs, and only one-third adhere to the Kremlin’s ideal conservative type. While this core is an important tool for Kremlin efforts to control society, project support, and manufacture electoral majorities, it reflects the limits authoritarians face when they try to impose a unitary set of national values.