The Story Vol 21

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BIG PICTURE: ‘Russia and Ukraine’ At the time of publication we weren’t able to find any research on how young people in the UK are responding to the invasion of Ukraine by Russian forces, but have identified a few pieces of research that illuminate young people’s views more widely. The political and social views of young people in Russia and Ukraine Comparative surveys of young people in Ukraine (2017) and in Russia (2019) provide a sense of their social and political views. While these are outdated and are likely to be have been affected by the war, they are still useful in providing some context. 4 • 49% of young Ukrainians said they didn’t trust political leaders ‘at all’, and 25% ‘not very much’, compared with 45% and 26% of young Russians respectively. • 72% of young Ukrainians and 75% of young Russians said they weren’t interested in politics. However, young Russians were more likely to have signed petitions and participated in civil society organisations than their peers in Ukraine. • When asked if they would be likely to engage in political activity, 42% of Ukrainian young people said ‘Not at all’ and a further 25% said ‘Probably not’. These figures were 34% and 29% respectively, for young Russians. • The level of trust in core state institutions expressed by young Ukrainians was extremely low in 2017, with the army receiving the highest, and political bodies – such as parliament or the national government – receiving the lowest scores. • 50% of young Russians ‘completely agreed’ that ‘there are conflicts in every society that can only be solved by violence’ compared with 19% of young Ukrainians. • 13% of young Russians and 13% of young Ukrainians either ‘agreed ‘or ‘somewhat agreed’ that ‘my country should accept more refugees’. • 14% of 14–17 year old Russians saw the collapse of the Soviet Union as ‘very negative’ compared with 35% of 25–30 year old Russians. Meanwhile in Ukraine 35% saw the dissolution as a positive event, and a large percentage of young people have no clear opinion on the topic. • Only 52% of young Russians believed that relations between Russia and Western Europe will ever be friendly. P.6
Germany In Germany, a survey of 206 13–17 year olds was conducted on March 2nd and 3rd. It found that 9/10 teenagers were anxious and worried about the situation in Ukraine. 5 These concerns centred around two possibilities: first that the conflict could ‘spill over’ to other countries and second, that Russia could deploy nuclear weapons. The survey found that, at the start of the month, most German teenagers were getting most of their information about the war from parents, public television, and the websites of mainstream news services. Those surveyed wanted to hear news ‘on the ground’ followed by information about how they could help others their own age who had to leave their homes. Voices from young people affected by the war. 6 “Ukraine and Russia are two of my homelands. I feel incredible pain, and yet I’m ashamed that it is so. Because as I’m writing this, my family is hiding from bombs. I don’t know when I’m going to see them again.” (Eva, 18, a Russian- Ukrainian in Spain) “Throughout the 17 years of my life, I have lived in Russia, a country that I infinitely love and will do so in the future. But it is the country that I love, not its government… The Russians never wanted war. Almost every single one of us has family or friends in Ukraine, so the news we woke up to on 24 February was a complete shock.” (Tamara, 17, Moscow) Twitter and Insta poll A short poll was hosted on Twitter and Instagram in late February 2022, receiving more than 400,000 responses from 18–34 year olds, according to the hosts, Pubity. Of those who took part. 56% say they would fight if their country was invaded 44% believe the EU, UK and US should get involved in the Ukraine war 76% believe wider war will happen 74% are fearful the war will impact their lives 78% are anxious about their future “Growing up in Kazakhstan, I’ve always felt a sense of ‘brotherhood’ and familiarity with the other post-Soviet republics. Only a couple of decades earlier, we were all one large country…In Kazakhstan, like any other former Soviet republic, there is a strong feeling that the Ukrainian struggle against Russia is going to define our fate as well, no matter which way it goes.” (Ilya, 18, Kazakhstan) 4. Félix Krawatzek (2020) Young Worlds? Political and social views of young people in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. 5. Ukraine- Russia conflict has German teens terrified. 9th March 2022 https://www.dw.com/en/ukraine-russia-conflict-has-german-teensterrified/a-61069344. 6. ‘This is how teenagers feel about the Russia-Ukraine war’ 15th March 2022. https://www.opendemocracy. net/en/odr/how-teenagers-feel-russia-invasion-ukraine/ P.7
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Page 5: Black and Asian children and those

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