from the nazis. we didn t expect that basically the entire ukraine is nazis. i m not kidding you. i m not exaggerating. it s an actual quote. reporter: since the invasion the kremlin has shut down independent journalism and made it almost impossible for russians to access facebook, twitter, and international news sites. but even before that most russians were fed a diet of lies. michael bazhura is a fluid russian speaker who once played the role of token american on russian talk shows, allowed to say a few words before being shouted down by other panelists. he left russia with his russian wife just before the invasion. he says the putin government s lie that ukraine is controlled by nazis strikes a deep chord in a russia that lost millions of its citizens while helping to defeat nazi germany. so memory of the second world war in russia essentially exists as the justification for the current kremlin leadership to maintain its position.