Anyone with even an elementary level knowledge of Russia will recognize this, whether concerning Tsarist era power struggles, the Bolshevik Revolution, or the last days of the Soviet Union. Historical allies of the regime have been arrested or even referred to “punitive psychiatry” (a Soviet era form of political detention). Far from pro- or anti-war Western perceptions, the Russian political system is far from a simple image of an expansionist/“realist” monolith. What Putin has managed to accomplish isn’t a unified Russian society, but one increasingly exhausted over the state of Russia. For now, Russia and Ukraine will pay an immense price in both treasure and blood.