Make no mistake — most people in Russia support the war

Yet another difficult story to write. I wish I could write something more comforting, less menacing, something that’d separate Russia from its mentally deranged leader.

I left Moscow almost a decade ago but my parents are still there. I have friends with who I closely keep in touch. With my three closest Russian friends (we went to college and it wasn’t in Russia) I’ve had, for many years, a messaging group and we chat every day.

I never had any illusions about Putin’s leadership — in its third decade now — in Russia being under some threat. By leadership, I mean that most people support him. Yes, there is probably election meddling and the figures are probably not as high as they make them be, in every election cycle. Yes, there is some opposition. They protest in the streets. Sometimes. That says it all how I described it — “some”, “sometimes”.

When this terrible war on Ukraine started a few days ago, I wasn’t sure though about how it’s perceived in Russia. Of course, Russian TV brainwashes the nation with its propaganda. De-nazifying Ukraine, NATO aggression, and so on. And it’s not even a war at all. It’s a military operation, apparently. But so vastly different this situation is in its scale and the horrific cost — loss of lives — that I wasn’t sure how it’s seen from within Russia. So I’ve been asking my relatives and friends. In fear, almost, not wanting to hear the truth.