Maintaining the Illusion

Well into the fourth year of war since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russian society remains largely compliant, even though few have benefited from the conflict. The working poor who make up the majority of the population have borne the war’s economic costs. Yet on the surface, little seems changed—and maintaining that illusion is the chief aim of the state. A “soft” administrative security regime is pervasive, preempting dissent. And a consumption culture encourages compliance, while reflecting Russian society’s increasingly visible class stratification.