Yesterday I saw a round table with German, Ukrainian, Russian and Belarusian journalists talking about the war. On the Russian side was the opinion that Putin is destroying the three countries while the Ukrainian side came the idea that when this "War of Independence and Sovereignty" is over, Ukraine is going to be more united than ever, comparing how divided the country was before the invasion to now.

The other subjects were about how Ukrainians were too comfortable being able to protest on the streets so they don't "get it" why anti-war Russians are scared for their lives as people are being arrested for things like raising the hand holding a piece of sliced ham as a reference to a brand that has "Мир"(peace) in the middle of it(true story).

In the end all three sides agreed that Ukraine will never be safe while Russia doesn't become a free and democratic country. That's one reason why I believe those "Novgorodian Flag"(image below) Russians should have international support even after the war is over as they seemed to be a segment of the Russian people who are not against their country but against that nightmare that is currently destroying their country, their neighbors and their international relations in a pursuit towards the restoration of the borders of "long dead empires"(quoting the UN Kenyan ambassador)

I never lived under authoritarian government so I don't know how it is like to have my civic spirit broken though decades of increasing authoritarianism, but it seems that the Russians are accustomed to it since the times of the Tzars and using lots of Vodka to drown their discontent. Not a coincidente that Russian leaders who tried to fight alcoholism to some degree were Tzar Nicholas II(for the people to focus on WW1 efforts) and Gorbachev(to fight the overwhelming wave of pessimism that was taking over the country in the late 1980s).

I am not saying vodka is bad for itself. But the exaggerated consumption by Russians is an indication that they are "drowning" their personal discontents with their government's policies.