Russian public opinion polls indicate that the Kremlin has emerged victorious in the propaganda war to win support at home for the military action in Georgia that has been so widely condemned in the west.

Over a third of the participants in a poll conducted by the All Russian Centre for Studying Public Opinion this week in 42 urban regions said they had expected a tougher response in Georgia from Dmitry Medvedev, the Russian president, who this week warned of a “crushing response” to any further attacks on Russian citizens.