For the past 20 years, the Putin regime has been shaping the Russian nation. They meant it to have two basic features: people would not bother with politics and would love the Soviet Union’s victory in the Second World War.
The Kremlin thus offered Russia’s urban middle class a non-aggression pact, funded by profits from oil sales: you keep out of politics, and we will not stop you from enjoying ‘Western’ standards of living and consumption. Meanwhile, the poor in Russia’s provinces were left with just the rallying cry about The Victory.
Outside Russia, other groups received a range of tempting offers.
