Thousands of draft-age men have tried to leave Russia, while protests have been held -- and quickly broken up by police -- in dozens of cities.
ADVERTISEMENT"Anxiety, fear and horror."
That was the reaction of nearly half of Russian respondents when asked their views about Vladimir Putin's "partial mobilisation" of reservists to the war in Ukraine, according to a new survey released by the independent Levada Centre.
It revealed 47% felt this way following the announcement, 23% said they were in shock and 13% expressed feelings of anger.
Little more than a fifth -- 23% -- said they felt "pride for Russia".
The poll was conducted from 22-28 September among 1,631 Russian adults in 50 regions.
Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said only 300,000 reservists with previous military experience would be called up, but there has been public irritation, even among officials and pro-Kremlin commentators, at the large number of unsuitable or ostensibly ineligible people being given call-up papers.
Thousands of draft-age men have tried to leave Russia, while protests have been held -- and quickly broken up by police -- in dozens of cities.
The Kremlin has acknowledged that some call-ups have been issued in error, and said last week that mistakes were being corrected by regional governors and the ministry of defence.