[rosndo]

>Under duress you'd be surprised what you'd publicly support.

>It's not as if every Russian has the luxury to say what they want and not fear extreme retaliation.

I suspect that vast majority of people saying things like this haven’t even visited Russia.

I own a home in Moscow, am married to a Russian. Our family has been hit hard by sanctions. I have skin in the game.

Knowing what I know about the actual experience of living in Russia, I don’t believe any of these people are under duress to support this.

[pureliquidhw]

Fair point. Rectors enjoy a great deal of privilege, but heavy is the head that wears the crown.

I don't have the Russian credentials you do so I'm only able to guess at reasons something so unreasonable can be supported.

[rosndo]

A huge amount of Russians genuinely support these things, rectors tend to be older so they definitely represent the most supportive demographic.