War in Ukraine: Russians begin to feel the concrete effect of economic sanctions
Muscovites line up outside a bank to withdraw cash as the ruble fell more than 30% on February 28, 2022. AP - Pavel Golovkin
Text by: Anissa El Jabri Follow
4 mins
Russia has further intensified its offensive in Ukraine, targeting cities including Kiev and Kharkiv, pushing the Europeans, urged to act by the Ukrainian president, to further toughen their sanctions against Russia.
They are already having effects on the psychology of Russians and on the state of the economy, but Vladimir Putin has also decided to strike.
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From our correspondent in Moscow,
Russian companies are now required to transfer 80% of their currencies into rubles, investors are banned from withdrawing from the country by presidential decree and Prime Minister Michoustine threatened foreign companies on Tuesday.
“Those who will win in the end will be those who have not succumbed to the slogans of foreign politicians, those who have not stopped their projects in our country.
Practice has shown it, it is easy to leave a market, but it is much more difficult to return, when the place has been taken by competitors,” he said.
The government does not speak in any case of the interest rates at 20%, of the Russians who rushed, when they could, on the euros or the dollars.
►Follow our live on the war in Ukraine
Others persist in saying that nothing is happening, like this female entrepreneur met this Tuesday morning in front of the ATM of one of the banks close to the State and sanctioned.
The elegant sixties and the closed face in front of the microphone of foreign journalists, she however had the desire to speak her truth.
“
No, I'm not worried about anything.
The economic situation is normal, everything is normal.
Nothing has changed.
I am the CEO of a company and everything is stable on our side.
Russia will survive thanks to its economic power.
Everything Russia has, it will remain.
Russia is not a nation dependent on other countries
,” she said.
Tension in the air
In reality, it's true there is no panic in the sunny streets and the sparkling blue skies of winter.
But there is tension in the air and sometimes even nervousness or anxiety.
“
The situation is really difficult.
Everything is really bad.
The economy is collapsing.
What do you want me to say,
launches a disillusioned passerby.
War is not an answer in 2022. Of course, the situation is getting worse every day and right now absolutely everyone is worried.
But I don't think people should continue to withdraw so much cash.
It further deteriorates the atmosphere and it does not facilitate the task of the banks.
I am not a political scientist, I am a creative person and I work in a totally different sphere.
But like most ordinary people, I can't make predictions.
Every day the situation changes, every day there is something new.
Even a politician cannot predict what will happen tomorrow.
We all live day to day
.”
Concretely, the lives of Russians have already changed.
Anastasia describes it best.
She is an English teacher in Moscow and for her already, the consequences of the sanctions already form a long list palpable in each of the uses of daily life for this Muscovite used to being very connected.
"
I work online and sometimes the internet connection is very slow and some of the servers we used to work with no longer work with Russia,
" she explains.
So we have to change everything and work with other platforms.
Also today, I tried to pay at a cafe with Apple Pay, and it didn't work.
It hasn't worked since yesterday.
Instagram is also increasingly blocked in Russia.
I also look at the rate of currencies like the dollar or the euro, and now we can clearly see that we actually have to work twice as hard to earn the same amount, just to be able to go to Europe, for example.
I'm not sure that it will be possible to travel there in the near future because of the sanctions, and I have the impression that absolutely everyone today hates Russians
, ”she concludes.
The anguish of a new world
Anastasia is very distressed, she has tears in her voice.
She can't manage to project herself into a new world that is taking shape and which seems so dark to her.
When Vladimir Putin took over the country, Russia was in the chaos of the 90s and the fall of the USSR.
It was he who restored stability, paid salaries and pensions on time and for that most Russians, especially those who lived through this period, are still grateful to him.
This is also why so many of them turned a blind eye to
its authoritarian drift
in return for stability and economic growth.
The impact of the sanctions could therefore signify the breach of this contract with the country.
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Russia
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Ukraine
Vladimir Poutine