Why do some people side with the Russians against Ukraine?
Most people in Western countries who side with Putin have one or several of the following motives:

Anti-Americanism.

This sentiment is especially strong in German and French alt-right and alt-left circles. They perceive America as their enemy, either because it’s the home of capitalism (alt-left) or they think it’s controlled by Jewish people (alt-right). They side with Russia as they consider an independent, democratic and free Ukraine a foremost American project.

Fear.

Some people in Western Europe are afraid that Putin will start a nuclear war. They side with the Russians to appease them. They are Putin’s (psychological) hostages and their behavior bears similarities to the “Stockholm syndrome”.


The American linguist Noam Chomsky is one of the most prominent pro-Russians in the United States. Already during the Bosnian genocide, he sided with the (Serbian) perpetrators. (Photo: ThePrint)

Victims of misinformation, propaganda, and manipulation.

If you get most of your information from pro-Russian media and social channels, sooner or later, you’ll side with them. Russia invested a lot of time and money into manipulating Western societies via social media and this has (at least partly) paid off.

Personal problems, financial, social, or psychological.

The pro-Putin people in Germany are often the losers of society. They achieved nothing in their lives but on the other hand, they feel entitled (because of their race or perceived intelligence) to more. In their opinion, society has unjustly shunned them. They embrace Putin out of spite, to upset the establishment. In France, these folks are called “petits blancs frustre” (frustrated little whites). Many of them voted for the neo-fascist candidate Marine Le Pen during the last presidential elections.

Pseudo intellectualism.

There is a whole group of people that are simply unable to register facts. They have to question everything a hundred times until they come to an answer that pleases them (although it probably has nothing to do with the truth). “You have to look at the problem from both sides” is what they often say. As things cannot be black and white for them, Ukraine has to be blamed for something. In addition, being pro-Ukrainian is regarded as conformism. Because “everybody stands with Ukraine these days”, so their thinking, it must be wrong. As they consider themselves smarter than the rest of the population and want to be seen as non-conformists, they side with Putin.

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