We know it's unsafe, we see the videos of peaceful protestors getting arrested. We knew all of this before the current conflict. And I completely agree with you that we are privileged to have these freedoms.

The ugly reality is that regime change will not happen in Russia without bloodshed, and currently the bloodshed is happening in a country that was unfortunate enough to border Russia.

The war in Ukraine is egregious and refusing to assume the risk as a Russian person is almost akin to saying "better them than us".