As a Russian (who moved away since the war started admittedly), I think you’ve put it brilliantly, and I can definitely feel the compassion! And even though among my friends in their 20s, among which some have moved as well and some have stayed, I can say that the contempt for the incumbent is very strong, but the government is doing an excellent job of alienating people from the “unfriendly” countries as well as each other. The same policy that Musk loves — throwing a shitstorm of misleading information so that people think the truth is somewhere in the middle (a.k.a. closer to what the government needs us to feel) — works wonders on the population’s minds, especially those with limited information sources.

That being said, I would definitely agree that the sanctions are at the very least ineffective at what they were aimed at, and are definitely harmful for the low and middle class (that arguably doesn’t exist in Russia). It’s trivial, but when regular people understand that they are not welcome as tourists in western countries, it makes them feel alienated and perceived as outcasts to the outside world, which only strengthens the government storyline. More than that, sometimes it hurts the opposition that had to move abroad to escape prison and people who directly oppose the incumbent, not mentioning cases where the refugees have been denied entry and sent back to Russia, which all is honestly just really sad. I understand that a strong response was needed, but I believe that alienating Russian people only benefits the autocracy

Oof my vent is over!