But the public will, when you have a regime that is propped up by repression propaganda, what you need is the appearance of victory, not actual victory. that s what s putin cares about and he s in this war to maintain himself in power. and so, just going along, and gaslighting the russian public, which is doing quite successfully, his popularity rate is incredibly rising. and so, i could see that scenario making sense to him. ruth ruth ben-ghiat, as always, thank you. coming up, the big award for a hero in ukraine. when the 11th hour continues. the 11th hour continues nicorette knows, quitting smoking is freaking hard. you get advice like: try hypnosis. or. quit cold turkey. kidding me?! instead, start small. with nicorette. which can lead to something big. start stopping with nicorette and it s easier than ever to get your projects done right. with angi, you can connect with and see ratings and reviews.