I've heard from my parents they would get fired from their non-government jobs too, if anti-war slogans were found on their social media. They also called me repeatedly asking not to participate in rallies, or they would "die of a heart attack". I used to organize those a few years back, and it sort of didn't end well.
In the pro-Western Russian circles, until recently, there was a notion of Great Neo-Russia. A supposed liberal democracy that would arise in the same borders, after putting everyone with blood on their hands on trial. It is now shattered to pieces by the tragedy of Ukrainian people. But there aren't any secession movements either (other than Chechnia, a can of worms of its own). We have no idea what awaits us, literally anything is possible.
It's probably good that Twitter is banned over here at the moment. Overnight, my feed filled up with a nasty mix of ethnic cleansing and "collective guilt" calls coming from Ukraine in response to the massacre. All directed at people who've been on their side by all legal means they have available. I don't know how to react to that.
The Euromaidan also started with normal civilians. It seems they just didn't accept no for an answer. Later they indeed threatened to involve the reserve army since they were on their side. But the army was not required.
>> Now it's up to the Russian people to make theirs.
> There's nothing we can realistically do.
Then you get to collectively carry the responsibility for that "inability"; for, by not rising up as one against the dictatorship, passively allowing it to continue. That's what was seen as appropriate for the nation you fought in your Great Patriotic War, so why shouldn't it be appropriate for yours?
Many awful dictators have been toppled by civilian revolts. Waiting for the military to get involved is not at all required.
When enough citizens revolt there will be a point where police forces realize that they are on the wrong side, either for moral or self preservation reasons. Once they start refusing to defend the dictator, that dictator's power is done.
