“The sanctions hitting Russia do not seem to encourage the population to challenge the authorities,” he writes.
The portal states that the daily life of Russians "has not changed after the tightening of Western sanctions."
“Western brands that left the country have been replaced for the most part, be it cosmetics, fashion or food,” the journalist added.
According to his observations, Russian, Turkish or Chinese brands have filled empty areas in shopping centers.
Former Belgian Prime Minister MEP Guy Verhofstadt also said earlier that nine packages of sanctions had "less than zero impact".
Eduard Steiner, a journalist for the German newspaper Die Welt, noted that the Russian economy is more successful in resisting Western sanctions than expected.