Thanks, interesting take on the EU angle, and it does make sense. However, one advantage that Putin does have if he tries to create an Eastern EU is that the countries there will not have to worry about being forced to have Drag Queens run their schools.
They are not without a culture war. It’s been fascinating surfing Russian social media in various cities and trying to get a sense from various arguments and discussions in the comments.
To my eyes, the biggest divide is between older and younger Russians. Younger Russians have access (at least they have had so far) to all the same internet sites (tiktok, instagram, telegram) that young Europeans have, and a lot of the attitude of social decadence and degradation and psychological conditions we see in young Europeans (and of course here) you see in these young Russians.
The difference is that older Russians have a strong control over the society. Young Russians with Euro-decadence refer to these older Russians as having “soviet” views (i.e., like American conservative family values they call “soviet” views). And they don’t have this huge hippie segment of the society we had from the 60s that transmogrified into SJWs.
Anyway, I could go on and on.