Russian Society and Foreign Policy: Mass and Elite Orientations After Crimea
Journal: Problems of Post-Communism
Year: 2019

Most Russians applaud the official narrative that Russia has reemerged as a great power. Yet they increasingly disagree with the assertion of the Kremlin that the United States is a looming external danger and a subversive force in Russian domestic politics. In line with these opinions, many Russians balk at the costs of confrontation with the West, demonstrating the initially limited and now waning political significance of the "Crimea euphoria" (or "Crimea effect") and "rally 'round the flag"