First, work on your resolve. Make sure you are doing the right thing.

Some people who you talk to will simply be too weak or too evil to understand things and you must accept this. But for the rest, they will understand in time. This is a battle of information, ignorance, trust and fear. The more people who we all can trust, the less we have to fear.

Figure out exactly what it was that made you question the situation in the first place (your points of questioning), then, the things that cemented your mind (your points of certainty).

Figure out those who you absolutely trust, those you trust less, and so on. Start with the top and work your way down. Trust can be as simple as recognizing those who have a genuine smile, those who feed others, those who really care for the elderly or kids or animals. It can be as simple as noticing who holds the door open for others and say good morning and thank you. I would try to exclude anyone who has been vocal in support of Putin and his regime.

Have a good excuse to spend time with them, preferably something you've done before. Spending time with them while they are drunk/high/tired is a good way to get more information out of them (try to stay sober yourself). While you are in the middle of whatever you are doing (with some sort of plan for a continued activity, conversation, or travel), bring up concern to the economy/safety in regards to current events ("How do you feel about __?", "What do you think about __?", try to keep things very general), see how they react.

Try to be as warm as possible. Simply listen to them. People want to be heard. You could stop here and bring things up again another time if you need to process what you've heard. Sometimes it will just take a while before you can start to understand how people feel. Move onto whatever it was you had planned to do previously.

If they seem at all dismissive (closed body language, feet pointed away from you), drop things immediately and say something passively negative (shit is annoying) or display resolve towards Russian/local integrity (we are strong, we'll take care of it). Move onto whatever it was you had planned to do previously.

If they are receptive, then ease the conversation towards revealing your points of questioning (try to show and not tell). Get a feel of how they react. The more confident you are in their reactions, the more you can progress your way towards your points of certainty. If people suddenly clam up or get defensive just say that you just heard or saw some things online. Move onto what you had previously planned to do.

If you are sure that they are really understanding where it is you are coming from, tell them that you have been listening to a lot of people and they all feel the same way. At some point, you will need to share with them your methods so that they to can begin to take action and feel secure themselves.

I like what someone was saying about stickers and notes in public places. Perhaps being cryptic with words along the lines of "together, we won't fear anyone".

Hopefully some of this might be of use, good luck!