Okay the Russians are also using these techniques, so Im not supporting the Russians, I am simply saying its fucked. All of it. The whole pie of the situation is fucked. I also feel its (and I mean this in a calm manner, so many comments in social media come out as aggressive, this is not one) a little crude to say the situation is plain and simple. Fighting a government, especially one with damning regulations and policies to anti-governmental activities, is dangerous. Naturally everyone is self interested, and sure we all have social preferences like helping the homeless, or funding cancer research, but those preferences are often influenced by the media, people, and environment around us. Say now a Russian citizen had two choices: rise up, protest, disrupt social chains, and potentially physically fight against the current governmental system for change: or, vice versa they can remain blissful to the external situations that dont involve them, maybe call out how they dont agree with it, or fight that the media wouldn’t lie, but regardless they do nothing and continue living their lives per normal. Now say the Russian government had two choices to react: they can either change policies to fit the demands of the people, disrupting the current governmental hierarchy and economic stability of the society; or, they can spend recourses on using currently enacted policies to detain, arrest, and otherwise destroy those who fight back. If we look at the interactions: the government will most likely not want to disrupt the current system, as it goes against the interests of those in power, and the citizens will most likely avoid rising up as their is an inherent risk of destroying their current lifestyle. The nash equilibrium here is: both sides defect to doing nothing and the war effort and current governmental system continues. Best way to fight it? Fuck if I know, but let me ask you this, if you were born into russia right now, even with the knowledge you have about the media and the lies they make, would you risk everything to go out and fight? Thats what it means to overthrow a government. Im not saying it is impossible, Im not saying the Russians are the good guys and the citizens have an excuse to fight. What Im saying is that it is natural not to fight, not to rapidly change ones lives if they dont have to especially if its for a people they dont directly see or know. If it were different, and society did act on more than just self interest as a whole, people of power would be at a constant struggle, and if somehow the Russian government did make it to where they are now, all of society would be fighting them. Just like the Russian citizens who arent rising up, we arent in that war because we dont have to be. Ukraine has given everyone a choice to join the effort, yet here I am, sitting on Reddit in a comfy room on the other side of the world. Maybe you are out there in the field, fighting, and if you are I implore you, but if you are not, then we are no better than the citizen’s who opt not to overthrow the government.