Foreign Affairs

Russians know it is more than just a "special operation".
They know it is Putin's war.
Putin owns the last 22 years.

Potemkin regimes last only as long as the frontages stay up and only as long as nobody goes behind them to look. The exact path whereby one of many cracks is exploited and the regime tumbles is unknowable and problematic. But Putin's regime will fall before long. He can't win his war. He is like a tank in mud, digging in deeper spinning its treads, but still firing its gun here and there.

The frontages are crumbling because Russians are noticing losses of rights, diminished incomes, lack of Western products, and a military that has been revealed to be weak and uncaring for conscripts.

Granted, they have a very restricted main stream media giving them a very narrow propaganda view, but they also have smart phones.

As in all authoritarian countries, there is a social contract. The people say "Let me get on with living and making a living and I'll not bother myself about whatever crackdowns you feel you need to do." But Putin has broken it, and Russians know who broke it.