Thread by @khodorkovsky_en

It is nearly impossible for a European to comprehend the psychological reality inside Russia. It is not just "fake news." It is a total deconstruction of reality.

Let me try to immerse you in the world Russians live in [1/9]

First, understand the isolation. Around 90% of Russians have never left the country. Even fewer have ever stepped beyond the borders of the former Soviet Union.

For the vast majority, the "West" is not a place they have visited. It is a ghost story told by the state.  [2/9]

This is difficult to imagine in Europe. You take a 2-hour train ride and you are in another country. In Russia, the scale is different. When I was transported from Moscow to prison, the journey took 7 days. SEVEN. 7 days on a train in the same country. [3/9]

And the only voice you hear is the voice of propaganda.

I told my friends who are still there: "But you have access to information. We live in a modern world." They told me: "Mikhail, you don't understand what it is like when propaganda works on you in 3D." [4/9]

Imagine your routine. You wake up and the TV says "the damned West" attacked us. And then you go to work. Your boss talks about "the damned West." You go to a cafe. The people at the next table are arguing about how "the damned West" is at the doors. [5/9]

You call a friend to vent. They hesitate. They repeat what they heard: "the damned West is trying to destroy us." Propaganda is a devastating force. When every person in your life repeats the same script, you start questioning your own sanity. [6/9]

You think: "How can everyone be wrong and only I am right? Maybe I am the crazy one. Maybe we didn't start this. Maybe they really did attack us." You do not just lose the argument. You lose your grip on reality. [7/9]

We have to stop viewing this as a political choice. It is like a person catching the plague. You do not blame them for being sick. You put them in quarantine, but you recognize it is a tragedy. This infection is not their fault. It is their misfortune. [8/9]

The blame lies with the architects. The ones who engineered this virus. They purposefully built this 3D cage to turn 140 million people into a weapon. They have names and faces. [9/9]