Russia's loss will be our gain

Also: Naomi Judd, R.I.P.

Do Russians overwhelmingly support Vladmir Putin and his aggressive war on Ukraine? Opinion surveys suggest they do, and while I take polling in authoritarian dictatorships with a massive helping of salt - the alternative isn’t “I oppose the war” so much as “murder me and my family with radioactive poison” - it saddens me to say that a combination of highly controlled and increasingly aggressive state propaganda, appeals to Russian nationalism and an us-against-the-world mentality, and nostalgia for Russia’s empire and superpower status mean Putin almost certainly does have a clear majority of his subjects on his side.

Of course, even if 81% of Russians support the war, that still leaves millions who do not. These people skew younger, more educated, and more likely to be working in high-tech industries.

And they’re voting with their feet while it’s still possible:

Western attention is focused on the millions of refugees who have fled Ukraine since the Russian assault began on Feb. 24. …