Leaders around the world have isolated Russian President Vladimir Putin. But opinion polls suggest his popularity at home is on the rise, from 71 percent before the invasion to 83 percent.

The independent polling firm, Levada-Center, gets no financial support from the government.

Lev Gudkov, academic supervisor of the center, says Putin's high poll number is down to his strategy of painting the Ukraine conflict as a "just war."

He said, "Putin's approval rating has been rising due to what Russians see as a growing military threat. The nation believes that NATO has approached Russia's border, threatening a new world war. Russian people didn't want war, but feared it would happen anyway. Therefore, there was a need to create the phrase "denazify Ukraine" to motivate people to accept a war."

Putin has repeatedly used the term "denazification," comparing the government of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to the Second World War Nazi regime.

Putin said, "We seek the demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine." He apparently believes such talk will resonate with the Russian public.

Gudkov says state-run media play a major role in the government's propaganda machine. He said, "The majority of people who support the military operation in Ukraine are senior citizens and those living in rural areas. Their only news source is state-run media."

Gudkov also says Putin dreams of a Russia that's scary but respected. But he believes that's why Russia miscalculated in attacking Ukraine.

He says Putin seems to think every problem can be solved by force.