This article presents findings of an original survey experiment on public attitudes toward nuclear use conducted on a representative sample of Russian citizens. We randomly assigned our participants to experimental treatments with vignettes describing a military conflict between Russia and NATO in the Baltics, where Moscow considered a limited nuclear “escalate-to-deescalate” strike to avert defeat. Our findings show that Russians are significantly more averse to nuclear strikes than to the corresponding use of conventional missiles. The participants disapproved similarly of a demonstrative nuclear explosion in an unpopulated area and of nuclear strikes in a more escalated scenario. We also found associations between the moral values of individuals and strike support corresponding to earlier studies in the United States. Finally, our participants reported similar concerns about both nuclear and conventional strikes, with the worry about civilian casualties and the suffering of victims at the top of the list across experimental treatments.

本文介绍了对具有代表性的俄罗斯公民样本进行的关于公众对核使用的态度的原始调查实验的结果。我们随机分配我们的参与者进行实验性治疗，这些小插曲描述了俄罗斯和北约在波罗的海的军事冲突，莫斯科认为在波罗的海进行有限的核“升级到降级”打击以避免失败。我们的研究结果表明，与相应使用常规导弹相比，俄罗斯人更厌恶核打击。与会者同样不赞成在无人居住的地区进行示范性核爆炸，也不赞成在更升级的情况下进行核打击。我们还发现了与美国早期研究相对应的个人道德价值观和罢工支持之间的关联。最后，