One thing about the War in Ukraine I don't think Westerners really get is that from a local perspective... Russia has always been like that. I don't entirely know what purpose mentioning this may serve within the discussion... except maybe to point out that this war came as a surprise to no one in Eastern Europe, and that when we doubt the moral standing of the average Russian, we are deeply aware of how their worldview has been shaped for at least two centuries.
Because when Pushkin wrote his infamous poem against the Polish Uprising of 1830, he used very much the same arguments as the Russian literary scene today. None of this changes. And this is why nothing short of a complete restructuring of Russia could possibly allow for any kind of civil relations between it and its neighbours — if the blood that has already been spilled doesn't make it too late for this century.
