Putin’s Forever War - The New York Times

"We are the suffocated society," Mr. Muratov says. "Russia has become a tower of silence." Nobody, he argues, knows what the country really thinks. All that is known is that the older generation believes in Mr. Putin with a religious passion. As for the young, up to one million of the best and the brightest have left since the war began. These young Russians, Mr. Muratov tells me, did not want to kill or be killed. They did not think that glory was attained through bloodshed. If anything, they believe glory lies in art and intellect. To replace them will take a generation or more, he believes...

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/06/world/europe/putins-forever-war.html