Away from the battlefield the conflict was transforming Russia itself. Over three decades Moscow had experienced various forms of government: a semi-democracy, soft authoritarian rule, and a thuggish mafia state. Putin’s special military operation meant a return at home to something not seen on the European continent since the twentieth century. It was familiar to Russians from history. That was full-blown dictatorship. In this totalitarian world of Big Brother slogans and Z symbols, dissent was a crime and love of the leader a civic duty.
