The Invasion of Ukraine Shocked Russians, So They Went Into Hiding

As depressing as what is happening is, patriots must fight and resist at every turn before it's too late.

Courtesy of Mirage

When the invasion of Ukraine began on the morning of February 24th, 2022, it wasn’t just the Ukrainians who were surprised. Living in St. Petersburg then and completely unaware I would leave in two days not to return, I recall how everyone I spoke to that day was utterly shocked by what happened. As I rode the bus to my Thursday afternoon date with an ice rink on the shores of the Gulf of Finland, I passed the first stirrings of protest: No to War signs were appearing all over the city.

That evening, while having some post-skate beers with friends, we sat and openly talked about how Putin was a monster and the war was a criminal act. The bartender and some other patrons agreed with us, but one young man said that the war was Nato’s fault. I wonder if that guy is still alive today. He was very pro-Putin and stated confidently that Ukraine belonged with Russia. Others playfully told him to shut up and drink his beer. In short, no one expected the war to start, but most, even those against it felt confident it would end quickly. That is why we didn’t pack anything when I left with my family.

“Don’t worry, Grandma,” I reassured my mother-in-law, “we will be back in a month. There is no way the Ukrainians will be able to hold on for much longer.”

Once we left, though, every plane returning to Russia was canceled, as were trains and buses. The only way we could return was to train to the border and walk across. The rest is history.

Russia went through a brief phase of protest against the war, and all of it was violently repressed by Putin’s private army. Thousands of Russians today still rot in prisons, and the leader of the anti-Putin forces, Alexey Navalny, is dead.

Beginning roughly six months or so after the war started and after the government demonstrated that anyone protesting would be treated as a traitor and dealt with harshly, the overwhelming majority of Russians slipped into a coma of sorts. I wrote countless articles about the cowardice of the Russian people, but I also shared stories of what life in Russia is like. A citizen trying to change things always runs up against an endless amount of invisible barricades that prevent change from ever happening. The whole Russian system is created to prevent grassroots movements from taking hold. The anti-war movement had energy at first but was so systematically weeded out and crushed that it failed. Today, there isn’t even a whisper, let alone a whimper of opposition.

Russia is adept at crushing opposition because it is a country that does not value individual human life — something we are seeing taking shape in the Trump/Musk version of America. Realizing that life is more precious than going out and getting beaten into a stupor for Ukraine, Russians retreated into cocoons of their own making. I have marveled at how packed the theaters are in Russia since February 24th, 2022.

It is almost like a golden age of “self-care” was launched. Russians are going to spas. They are taking part in countless “master classes” covering every topic under the sun. I see many of my former colleagues and friends in Russia on Facebook and Instagram at classes on photography, cooking Italian cuisine, calligraphy, collaging, and much more. Thanks to the money the government has pumped into the economy, Russians are earning more, and so many are thriving like never before. While we still struggle to rebuild a life in our new society, envy sometimes clouds my joy at the photos friend share of their adventures.

Of course, I wouldn’t change places with them. They have been threatened into submission. It is almost like they are going to all those classes and celebrating life to prove to someone that they don’t harbor any negative feelings for the government or the war. It is like the child who often shows more love to the abusive parent. The child hopes that if he loves the parent more, then maybe the abuse will stop.

America

I scanned the headlines in the New York Times and Washington Post this morning. It is all so depressing. Headline after headline caused me to tense muscles in places unseen, creating an overall rubber band effect in my morning routine. I usually leave the newspapers until after lunch. Here I was, starting my day off on the wrong foot, but I had time while waiting for the bus. Then, one article in The Atlantic pulled me in. The journalist wrote about five movies that changed her life. I read it and relaxed. I hadn’t seen two of the movies and vowed I would watch them as soon as possible.

Looking up, I saw a bird sitting atop a pole near my son’s school. The weather was clear, and the morning chill was less dense, which meant it would soon be hot again. Soon, we would travel to the vineyards to meet people and taste wines. I didn’t want to go back to the Trumpian reality. I could avoid it and pass my days in the cocoon of bliss, similar to how most Russians live today.

But I can’t — we can’t. We aren’t Russians. Now that Trump is happening to us, and the U.S. is starting to look more like modern-day Russia than the America of just 20 years ago, my declaration that all Russians are cowards is under revision. I will instead say that they are behaving cowardly. Russians, however, have been murdered en masse by their own government, so they are familiar with treacherous leaders. They sense when it is better to be silent, keep your head down, and go about life like nothing was happening. Go to the theater; take dancing and cooking classes — thrive, flourish.

Regardless of whether they have money to go to the spa or do something “self-care,” Americans can’t let up now. It is not in our blood to construct cocoons and shy away from protests. We need to fight, resist, and keep our foot on the gas, and if it takes one, two, three, or four years, we need to turn our daily life into one big and constant protest against the Trump/Musk dismantling of our democracy. America is better than the cowardice and treason of Trump, Musk, Vance, Bondi, Patel, Hegseth, and all the rest of the lunatics in Trump’s administration. RFK Jr. is telling Americans to eat french fries made in beef tallow!

We have to fight; this is not a time to lose focus. I will watch those movies, but only after I have made my daily contribution to retaking our country.

Get your resistance t-shirt here, folks. Come on. Let’s tell them what we think!