Civilians in an authoritarian regime still have things they can do to undermine or weaken the regime without even taking any risks. They can not jojn any of the state institutions of repression - the police, army and security services. They can avoid doing business with such people or organisations as far as possible. They can seek out independent information, and disseminate it through family and friends. They can peacefully protest if it's safe, or in some cases vote or abstain from voting.

They can of course go much further than any of this, but we need to make it clear how we feel about their regime and it's actions. We need to provide a motivation to resist. Yes it sucks, the Russian people are not our enemies, I know and work with Russians, including close colleagues. Sanctioning the Russian state, and struggling against it from within are two sides of the same coin. It sucks that anyone has to do any of it, but that's the fight we're in whether we chose it or not.