Whom are you trying to fool?

Your English is eloquent, you try to operate with sound arguments, your picture is appealing... But after that, do you really consider yourself the majority? If so, may I ask, how much experience with your own country do you have outside of hometown?

My personal experience with Russians can be summarized this way: yes, people know the government fucks them over, but a sick version of whataboutism keeps them going - it's not so important if they're in shit as long as everyone around is even deeper. They seek not prosperity for themselves, but plague for the neighbor; they want a strong state, their own son of a bitch to show the whole world Kuzkinu mat'.

That, coupled with arrogance, toxic masculinity, xenophobia, disgusting imperialism etc, banded together with constant feeling of insecurity, was my impression of Russia, all of the places I've been to, from the capitals to Kuban', from Karelia to Yekaterinburg.

What I can agree with that it must be fucking scary to talk on any edgy topic now. I had to heavily filter what to say and what not to, and last time I was there in 2013, before Putin's yet another attack on another nation. I don't want to think of possible consequences for speaking your mind out nowadays.