MOSCOW

THE RETURN OF many of those who fled Russia when Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine is being seen by his supporters as an endorsement of Moscow’s strongman as his army continues to inch forward in the Donbass and his economy shows remarkable resilience.

“These chickens flew the coop when they thought all was lost for Russia, now they are coming back because we’re not doing so badly, and the economy continues to hold up, and the rest of the world hates them,” insists Yevgeny Yevgenivich Yevgeny, who writes a political blog that supports the Putin Government. “Even scum knows what side the butter goes on the bread, if you will excuse the metaphor mixture. English is not my natural tongue. Nothing succeeds like success, yes?”

The Russian economy does appear to be thriving, despite western sanctions. Its GDP growth is supposedly greater than that of its opponents.

“That’s a good old war economy for you,” explained Yevgeny. “Nothing like a fight to the death to focus minds.”