An analysis of the American newspaper (Washington Post) dealt with what life could look like in Russia after years of economic sanctions due to its war on Ukraine, and analysis writer Miriam Berger indicated that the independent Russian journalist Alexei Pivovarov had this idea, and he considered the most appropriate way to find out. It is to go to Iran, which has been suffering for years, to find out.
Pivovarov found extremely high inflation, an amazing system of multiple exchange rates, an expanding black market, and entrepreneurs developing applications and alternatives for just about everything.
She stated that it is not difficult to see why the Russians are interested in this matter, because within months Russia has overtaken Iran as the country under most sanctions, and Moscow appears to be on its way to retaining this title except for any radical change in its ongoing war on Ukraine.
The author pointed out that Iran provides a cautionary case study of the effects on people's lives when sanctions become prolonged.
Iran presents a cautionary case study of the effects on people's lives when sanctions become prolonged
There are, as Pivovarov points out at the beginning of his programme, few "direct similarities" between the two countries.
Russia is, according to Elie Geranmayeh, deputy director of Middle East and North Africa programs at the European Council on Foreign Relations, a nuclear power with a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council, an important producer of wheat and oil globally, and has many allies, or at least partners in the South. floor.
"The geopolitics of sanctions against Russia is very different from that of Iran, which I think makes them more difficult in terms of global implementation," Geranmayeh added.
The writer stated that there is a history of mistrust between Tehran and Moscow, but the common ground is widening, as Alexander Novak, Russian Deputy Prime Minister, told Russian television during a visit to Iran on Wednesday that the two countries discussed the exchange of oil and gas supplies.
She hinted that gray and black markets are already proliferating in Russia, although Russian energy still has many legal avenues to market.
Despite Washington's efforts, the major countries of Asia, Africa and the Middle East will not join the Western sanctions campaign.
She added that some in Washington see the flourishing of illegal activity and the widespread refusal to surrender, as signs that sanctions are not strong enough or insufficiently applied.
Others say this is evidence that sanctions are not forcing a country to change as planned.
The writer concluded her analysis with what the Russian expert on Iranian affairs, Adlan Margov, told Pivovarov that he fears that Russia will lose its “creative layer” under sanctions, just as Iran has done in waves of immigration since 1979. “Then the local economy will suffer greatly, which is what happened with Iran.”