Vladimir Putin began promoting the “Invisible Regiment” movement about 15–20 years ago, encouraging civilians to honor relatives who died in World War II during military parades. This reinforces a deep Russian cultural connection to sacrifice, history, and patriotism, which extends beyond just the Russian Federation to Belarusians and ethnic Russians in former Soviet states.
Russians have strong emotional ties to their homeland, and this attachment creates solidarity, particularly because of shared struggles under communism. During the Cold War, many Soviet émigrés returned home because they felt alienated in the West.
The breakup of the Soviet Union left many ethnic Russians in newly independent states (like Ukraine, Estonia, Georgia) where they were often marginalized. Examples include laws limiting rights for Russians, like Estonia barring them from local elections and Ukraine’s law designating Russians as non-indigenous people, reducing their rights. These exclusions help explain why Russia views conflicts in these regions as existential—not just for the country, but for the Russian nation, including those outside current Russian borders.
The West often misunderstands this nuance, assuming that pressure or sanctions will cause Russia to yield. But sanctions affect ordinary Russians and deepen the sense of national pride and grievance. Unlike during the Cold War, when the West opposed a system (communism), today's actions are perceived as attacks on people themselves.
Finally, the war in Ukraine is taking on the emotional intensity of a civil war, where hatred builds deeply over time. This is different from earlier wars like WWI, where enemies could still show human empathy. In Ukraine, that empathy is mostly gone, and the war has become deeply personal for many involved.
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