Foreign Affairs: Putin's Second Front. How did war become a way of life in Russia? 

Russia's war in Ukraine is no longer just a daily occurrence, but a way of life for a Russian citizen who no longer has the right to express a position that ignores what is happening in his country.

The American magazine "Foreign Affairs" published an article analyzing the situation inside Russia in light of the war it is waging against Ukraine and the attitudes of its people towards it.

Andrei Kolesnikov, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, described the shifts in the Russian people's attitude toward the war as a "second front" for President Vladimir Putin and a "battle for the Russian soul."

He said that ordinary Russians no longer have to adopt negative attitudes that ignore what is happening inside their country, which was the only right they have enjoyed during more than two decades of Putin's rule.

Compliance is one of the conditions for good citizenship
On Saturday, obeying the ruling regime and showing support for the "special operation" in Ukraine became almost necessary conditions for good citizenship in Russia, according to Kolesnikov.

For Putin, the new "obedient" Russia is just as important as what is happening in Ukraine: Since the beginning of the invasion, the Kremlin has been engaged in a "second war" within Russia itself, a war that "is unlikely to unfold even if the conflict in Ukraine freezes."

Over the past decade, Putin has awakened his people's desire to restore its imperial glory, and there is growing pride in Russia's ability to rely on its own resources and its image as a strong, nuclear-armed state and "savage mercenaries," an apparent reference to the Wagner paramilitary group.

"Us and Them" Transformations
But the shift in popular attitudes also coincided with a different, more significant change in Russians' relationship with the ruling regime. Previously, the "us and them" model, or the model that divides society between supporters and opponents, was the hallmark of Russian society: "we" meant common people, while "them" referred to the elite, whether those in power or "those who lived in palaces, spent their yacht vacations, and looked down on people."

Today, "we" means all Russians, while "them" refers to the hostile powers trying to tear apart historic Russian territory: Europe, NATO and the United States.

War has become a way of life
Kolesnikov goes on to believe that the Russian regime has proven adept at exporting goods to the East and importing contraband through Turkey or some Central Asian countries, for example. Central bank policies and "relatively effective" economic management have also saved Putin from being accused of social and economic failure, a success thanks to Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, whose popularity has soared.

For Putin's "active" and "passive dociles," war is no longer a daily occurrence, but a way of life.