FLOW OF WISDOM®

I sat down with a Russian immigrant to talk about what it was actually like growing up in Russia, and what her family in Moscow says life feels like now.

One detail that stuck with me right away: the only holidays they celebrated were Easter and New Year’s Day. No endless calendar of traditions the way many Americans are used to. Just a couple of anchor moments.

Then she shared something even heavier: as a kid, her family couldn’t always afford basic needs. But today, according to her and the relatives she still has in Moscow, things are materially better than what she remembers from childhood.

And that’s where the conversation turned into the part most people avoid.

What do people inside Russia actually think right now?

Her answer wasn’t a talking point. It was personal — and it was blunt:

Her family in Moscow told her they love Putin, and they believe there is no other president who can do what he does.

But she didn’t describe it as blind devotion. She framed it around lived experience, what feels stable, what feels improved, and what feels safe.

“It’s so safe, kids can take the train alone.”

One moment that really made me pause: she said her relatives in Moscow consider it normal for children as young as 7 years old to take the train by themselves because of how safe they believe the city is.

Whether you agree with that perception or not, it’s an important detail because it shows how people measure “quality of life” differently. For her family, safety isn’t an abstract political debate; it’s a daily, practical reality they feel in their neighborhood and routines.

That statement also hits hard in the West because it clashes with the dominant media narrative many of us hear every day. So instead of rushing to a conclusion, I wanted to sit in the discomfort and ask the real question:

Is there more to the story than we see in the news?

This episode isn’t about endorsing anyone. It’s about understanding how loyalty is built, and why some families experience “progress” and “stability” in a way that becomes tied to one leader, even when the outside world sees that leader very differently.

Watch the full conversation