That first story! Oh Russian satire! Grandmasters! Thanks for translating!

"Resistance" for me is a romanticism. No one risks their life for better ideals because no one can agree on them in the first place. I always think of the Spanish Civil War.

You have a refinery somewhere in Russia. It pays certain people this or that. One day it can't pay. Money is delayed from the bank. Added taxes. product didn't sell. Who knows. The locals don't care. If weeks or months pass and they look at the factory owner dining elegantly in their home while they wait for the their money eventually they will decide, "well, if the refinery isn't doing anything why not help get rid of some of it. Then maybe the owner will decide he should spend less time waiting for his second course and more time PAYING US OUR FUCKING MONEY."

The only one who cares about the war is Putin and his police state being run from a bunker, as you point out. The money is running out. Eventually Putin wont' be able to pay his own police etc and that'll be the end. Theoretically, that sounds good, but in practice, I believe the West is making the same mistake it did in Iraq, by not making sure the bureaucracy can remain intact. Sorry for the ramble.