Thread by @katiezavadski

Some thoughts on Putin:

My grandmother is a profoundly Soviet person. She's lived in the US for nearly half her life now, after decades in Kyiv and being born & raised in St. Petersburg.

For as long as I can remember, she's thought I was hysterical about Putin.

I think her view represents a lot of the Soviet diaspora. My grandfather and I would lament what he's doing, the crackdowns on dissidents - and she would say things were being blown out of proportion by the West.

"I'm buying you a one-way flight to Moscow" became a frequent joke

Just a few weeks ago, my grandmother told me that the West was blowing everything out of proportion again. That Putin wouldn't attack Ukraine. Grandpa wasn't there to argue against her with me.

My grandfather died last summer. I miss him dearly.

Less than a month later, my grandmother's view has completely changed.

She now calls Putin a "paranoiac" with "delusions of grandeur."

The crackdown on the Russian press? On @tvrain? The devastation of the city where she raised a family?

That's making a difference.

Which all goes to say: Putin lost the people I thought he'd never lose. The Soviet people who think the West complains too much. Who like a strong ruler.

Yesterday, Grandma said she's been hearing people say Putin's been planning this since 2014.

"Grandpa and I have been telling you that for years!" I said.

And she laughed in this profoundly sad way. Like she was seeing for the first time.

Which all goes to say: Putin lost my grandma.

And my stepdad, who's politically disinterested and generally thinks people complain too much.

He's from Minsk.

Now, when he sees grandma, he switches between Russian TV and CNN to show her the propaganda.