evidence: The sanctions have left Russian business leaders with no option but to stay at home. Even those who wanted to remain in the West and help Ukraine were punished — such as banker Oleg Tinkov, who condemned the war and even renounced his Russian citizenship but was hit by sanctions nonetheless. (He finally succeeded in getting them lifted only a few months ago.) Tycoon Mikhail Fridman, co-founder of Russia’s largest private bank, cautiously criticized the war, only to find himself briefly arrested by British authorities and hit by American sanctions. A few weeks ago, Fridman gave up, initially leaving his London home for Tel Aviv, then finally returning to Moscow. [...] Even so, the shift in public opinion is unmistakable. Twenty months ago, Russian elites were convinced that the long-unassailable Putin had finally overplayed his hand and that he would likely have to pay a harsh price for his miscalculation. Now, most of them seem to have changed their minds. The Russian president, as they see it, has shown that he’s here to stay.