I think the west doesn't really understand Russia, or Russians very well at all. They are tremendously proud to be Russian, and in their view, Russian means to be great and powerful - something other people fear.
Putin understands this, and embodies it very well. At least until his army got badly manhandled in Ukraine.
They also - its hard to explain but the proportion of people you expect to lie, cheat or be generally dishonest is higher in Russia, than it is in other parts of Europe or the US. Certainly higher than where I come from in NZ. So, they generally accept that Putin, in order to be strong, and to keep Russia strong, might occasionally need to be a dick.
At the same time, they believe the west to be dishonest, hypocritical, and shallow. The average Russian would rather their country was *more powerful* than NATO, far more than they would rather their country became *more like* NATO.
There is also an element in the Russian pysche of 'there is no frozen hell you can give me, that I cannot handle.' Bring it on is tatooed on their foreheads.
There are definately pockets where some of this is not true, but for the most part, I find it likely that Putin has got pretty broad support, that the war in Ukraine is seen as necessary to keep Russia strong, and there is real anger against the West for meddling in their affairs, and that the Russians are actually digging in for the long haul, hoping the West loses interest in this whole thing.