1/8 Mr Ilves's criticism is not unjustified or without merit. Mr Putin and his genocidal war in Ukraine are hugely popular among ordinary Russians. Putin is popular for (the combination of) two reasons:
https://twitter.com/IlvesToomas/status/1553629835527864321
2/8 Firstly, he tickles the primitive instincts of the majority: Russia's messianic mission, paranoia and siege-mentality, "lost" glory and greatness.
Secondly, the Russians themselves have not significantly suffered from Mr Putin's rule.
Secondly, the Russians themselves have not significantly suffered from Mr Putin's rule.
3/8 They can simultaneously enjoy the national euphoria over destroyed Ukrainian cities and mutilated enemy soldiers AND spend their time safely and comfortably in Western countries.
4/8 It is, after all, the Buryats, Kalmyks and other minorities that do most of the dying for the restoration of the "Russkiy mir", not the middle class of Moscow or St Petersburg.
5/8 The Russian autocracy is built on a silent agreement between the Kremlin and the middle class: "You do not interfere in the politics, and we give you material prosperity."
6/8 For anything to change, the comfort must be taken away from the masses. It was the economic misery that brought down both the Emperor in 1917 and the Soviet regime in 1991.
7/8 Russia and the Russians have chosen to become the enemy of the world, and they should be treated accordingly. Russia should be isolated economically, diplomatically, culturally, and in all other ways.
8/8 "Talking" to Russians and "keeping channels open" did not democratize Russia; on the contrary, it made the current genocidal regime possible. And it continues to do just that. Appeasement and watered-down compromises only prolong the tragedy.
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