Angry Russians displaced after Ukraine crossed the border and invaded the Kursk region last week have vented their frustrations online to President Vladimir Putin.
The criticisms represent an unusually public show of defiance in a country where any cracks at the leader or military can draw harsh punishments.
I am not 100% sold on this. People ARE complaining to Putin but not the way we might think. Many try to speak directly to him in a manner of “you might not be aware of this”, or “every politician around is a corrupt criminal except our glorious leader, they just don’t tell him”.
It reminds me of people getting sent into the gulag murmuring “If Stalin knew of this”, ignoring the fact that it was Stalin himself who signed the imprisonment.
If you are interested about the Russian peoples reaction. It’s frustrating to listen to some.
My favorite story about the gulags is the childhood of Mikhail Gorbachev.
He was born in a family of peasant farmers. His paternal grandfather opposed the collectivization of the farms and was sent to the gulag. His maternal grandfather supported collectivization of the farms, and ended up as the chair of the local farm. He was also sent to the gulag.
The strategy of getting the public to ignore the war by sending oppressed minorities into the meat grinder falls apart when the friends and loved ones of those you’re telling to ignore the war become POWs.
All of the sudden, the treatment of prisoners matters. All of the sudden, the war becomes real.
I wouldn’t discount the Russian capacity to disconnect even in those circumstances.
While it might seem that the Russian population could disconnect under such dire circumstances, history shows that Russians have the capacity to rise against oppressive conditions imposed by their own government. The Russian Revolution of 1917 is a prime example. Amidst widespread dissatisfaction with the Tsarist regime due to economic hardship, military failures, and political repression, the Russian people ultimately overthrew a centuries-old monarchy.
Similarly, the protests and eventual collapse of the Soviet Union in the late 1980s and early 1990s highlight the power of their collective action. The combination of economic stagnation, political corruption, and a desire for greater freedoms led to mass demonstrations that ultimately brought down the regime.
These historical precedents suggest that while disconnection and passivity are possible; they are by no means guaranteed. When the consequences of government actions become too severe—whether through economic hardship, loss of life, or a perceived betrayal of public trust—the Russian populace has shown that it can indeed mobilize to demand change.
Poor Russians though, it always got marginally better at best, and then it got worse again… Hope their next change is around the corner and is longer lasting.
Not sure if LLM text or real effort, but if the latter - thank you. I think you’re right on all historical points and the conclusion. I think in the current status quo things are just nowhere near as dire for the average Russian as they were during the examples you gave. The economy is doing well for individuals and most probably won’t see war up close even with Ukraine’s incursion. Could be wrong.
If you think about it, it kind of makes sense. Putin can’t threaten to torture/imprison your friends and relatives if your friends and relatives are all sitting in a POW camp somewhere. There’s nothing to stop these people from calling him out.
What? That’s the strategy for threatening people in exile. Those people, he can just torture and imprison right away. But he doesn’t need to, he just silenced them. Believe me, as someone who has endure being in Russia and having TV running 24/7 beside me, that none of it is seen on TV, or any publicly accessible websites for that matter.
Have they tried having some of their billionaires fall ot of windows yet?
Putin: No way!
Zelenskyy: Way!
