Proteste contro l’uso della forza militare da parte dell’esercito sovietico contro la Lituania. Piazza Manezhnaya, Mosca. 20 gennaio 1991.

It will never be the same…….hope is the only option.

It wasn’t a protest against military invasion in Lithuania, it was a protest against political monopoly of the communist party. Some days after that the constitution was modified and other parties were allowed. But it’s true that they supported Lithuanian people also, it was one of the themes of the protest, but not the main one.

For those wondering what has changed in Russians, one major shift is the perception of the West. In the final days of the USSR and the early years of post-Soviet Russia, there was widespread optimism. Many Russians believed that they’ve dissolved the Soviet Union, so they can join the West. The general sentiment toward the West was quite positive.

Today, it’s different. Many Russians feel disillusioned, believing that the West was never truly open to embracing them. Instead, they perceive that they were treated as the “losing side,” with their vulnerabilities exploited to push Western interests like NATO’s expansion. Those things reinforced the narrative that the West sought to weaken Russia rather than partner with it.

This shift reflects what many in Russia feel today (though not everyone, of course). I’m not saying they’re right or wrong, it just what it is.