Many of y'all do not have ties with Russians outside those who speak English and those who speak English are either rather liberal (for a Russian) or pretend to be one. But most Ukrainians actually have relatives and former friends in Russian. We understand the Russian language. We know EXACTLY what they are talking about. And I can say for sure that the majority of them is not anti-imperialist anti-putin anti-war. They will say the war in Ukraine saddens them but treat occupied territories as part of their own land. They will say putin sucks because _their_ lives worsened and not because of Georgia, Chechnya and Ukraine. And most of them doesn't even think imperialism is bad. And many, many Russians are ok with putin. Many are apolitical and spineless, just letting to happen whatever happens. Many will go to one protest and give up. Too little, too late. They claim they are good people but aren't ready to risk anything to prove that
You think that under putin's dictatorship there's a land of incredibly beautiful and brave people - there isn't. All brave people are in jail (or killed) for a long time, specifically because the general public didn't stand up to protect them. Many brave people in Russia aren't Russian but members of indigenous nations who are colonized by the state. Russian government cracked upon the opposition (even way before Navalny), discriminated against national minorities and indigenous people (why is there no Ukrainian schools in Russia when it's the largest Ukrainian diaspora in the world?) and for a long time Russian people let it happen. They looked away and hoped they won't be next
Russian culture is soaked with imperialism. There are no "ifs" and "buts"
And with all due respect: stop making this about the abusers and make it about the abused - the Ukrainian people. Your desire to find good in people whose fathers and sons invaded a sovereign state is laughable. Think about your priorities
Any decent human will understand that the world restricting your country when it is attacking its neighbour is good. Any decent human will have a moral responsibility to do something about a war that your country is waging on other states. If your Russian friends aren't protesting rn and complain how hard it is to them, then don't consider them decent humans. They chose their comfort over the lives of others
This!
