Also those Russians were still semi-literate, semi-medieval peasants deeply cowed by red terror. The Russians since the fall of the USSR are not those type of Russians. They’ve had 1 or 2 generations of living reasonably well stocked shelves & variety at stores, the ability to travel, communicate with the outside world. I can’t see these young Russians going back to a 1950s Stalinist life style with a smile on their face and a song in their heart!
I don't know, we have a lot of young people in this country that want to go back to the stone age for their beliefs in socialism and global warming.
That's what we said about Iran a couple decades ago. They might not like it, but Russia demands compliance, not acceptance. I wouldn't underestimate Putin's willingness to crush dissent.