This simple, not so simple thing needs to happen for Putin’s regime to fall apart

Bad news first.

Most Russians — in Russia — support Putin’s war, support Putin. I wrote several stories on this. I know first hand from my friends and relatives. Putin is defending Russia from the genocide, the Nazis, Ukraine’s chemical and nuclear weapons (in the making), the NATO, and so on, and so on. There is also a denial of the actual war, of cities being destroyed. They don’t show it on Russian TV. They call it a “military operation”

Secondly, there is no credible opposition in Russia. I have great respect for Navalny, but he (or anyone from the current opposition for that matter) won’t be what Yeltsin was for Russia in 1991. Ain’t happening. I don’t know why exactly. Maybe it’s related to the point above. Maybe the opposition is just weak in that it hasn’t been able to unite and produce a true leader. I may be wrong but I just don’t see hundreds of thousands protesting in the streets against the war; at least not yet.

Now the good news.

Actually, there is no good news…

But nothing is impossible, I think.

What needs to happen is for a single prominent pro-Putin, pro-war individual (a general, a journalist, a minister) to become the opposite, to stand up and make a radical statement. This war — war, not a “military operation” — is meaningless. We are killing our brothers and their children. For nothing. For a lie. You’re being lied to. We…