Being Russia and Russian now

[Smartprofit]

I watched a vlogger before, she was anti-war and anti-Putin but she explained in her videos that there are no major changes to the local citizens. She also proved it while going to the market, shopping mall, and streets. Prices are the same although some Western brands are limited there are some of them that are still available in their malls. Their basic needs are mostly unaffected according to her.

Russia is a giant country with only over a hundred million population. Its resources are overflowing especially the basic needs and this is probably the reason why its local population is not really that affected. They still have access to China and Indian markets when it comes to cheap and basic stuff. Those Western brands in the malls like Adidas, Puma, etc. as what I've seen in the videos are maybe local-made? Or maybe they came from China legally or smuggled as these 2 nations remained strong partners.

The official stores of Puma, Adidas, Nike in Russia have closed - this decision was made by the owners of these brands. 

However, there are many marketplaces that sell goods from these manufacturers online.  Russians order these goods on the site (without trying them on) and receive the purchased goods at numerous pickup points.  It is also likely that Puma and Adidas sneakers are still sold in some offline supermarkets (probably at a higher price). 

According to the legislation of the United States and the European Union, the import of luxury goods (goods worth more than 300 euros) into Russia is prohibited. 

But most sneakers cost less than that amount.  Therefore, sneakers of foreign brands can be imported into the territory of the Russian Federation.

[Ozero]

I think Russia has done her assignment before embarking on this war, the funny thing about this sanction is that there are a lot of loopholes in it like allowing some countries to still buy Russian oil which makes Russia find a way around it. I am not saying what Russia did is right but I just feel the loser here is Ukraine, they allowed America to use them as a pawn, anyone with basic commonsense will know this is the hand of Esau and Voice of Jacob. I don't see how they come out of this useless war a winner, it is going to take years for them to recover, if at all. I also feel what hinders the success of these sanctions is the awakening of China and India, both are now big markets and don't fear or need to toe the line of America again but to protect their interest

Do you think that the Ukrainians should have surrendered to the advancing Russian army, rather than turn to the United States and NATO countries for help with weapons? Then Ukraine would cease to exist as a state. The Ukrainian government and all citizens who opposed the Russian invasion would be killed and tortured. Ukrainians would be placed in filtration camps, some would be sent to remote depressive territories of Russia, where, in fact, there is almost no civilization. The rest would be turned into silent slaves without family or tribe, because Putin, on the eve of the invasion of Ukraine, said that Ukraine is an artificially created state, therefore Ukrainians as such do not exist. And he would have made every effort to ensure that Ukrainians did not exist.

Now the Ukrainians, with financial assistance and arms assistance from the United States, have almost completely defeated the Russian "second army of the world", while capturing hundreds of their best armored vehicles and other weapons, with which they invaded Ukraine, as well as in several military operations liberated a significant part of their occupied territory. In September, Russia began mobilizing 300,000 conscripts. But their subsequent winter offensive did not lead to any tangible results. Now in Russia they are trying to mobilize at least 400,000 more people. All of them will become fertilizer in Ukraine, if they themselves do not overthrow their distraught bunker grandfather.

[zasad@]

The Russian economy has been buried many times already, but Russia is a God-saved country. Prices for electronics are now traditional and do not drastically differ from world prices, if you do not look at expensive brands. The entire budget segment is inexpensive. Cars are much more expensive, but all misfortunes come to an end someday. Rich people can live in any country, but they will lose their profitable business in Russia, and it is difficult to make money in a new country. Poor people have long returned, because it has become expensive to live in the same Turkey.

About the "power of the Russian economy" - this is a continuation of a series of nonsense like "the second army of the world" ))
Let's take McDonald's as an example. A simple chain of eateries that has been operating all over the world for many decades. Delicious or not tasty - a matter of taste. But you definitely won't get sick. And now we are looking at what of a very profitable business, did Russia put its hand to it? For starters, the network was simply stolen. Yes, the "justification" is very "reasoned" - we took their buildings and equipment because they left here, and we will confiscate it. Anyway. Let's see what happens next. More precisely, we take statistics.
In 2021, McDonald's showed a net profit of 2 billion rubles.
In 2022, Vkusno i Tochka: Net loss reached 11.3 billion rubles.
In my opinion, a good indicator - we got a READY, WORKING, PROFIT-generating business, and in a year it was brought to a classic Russian state

Or, for example, "auto giant" - "Moskvich"! Proudly declared. that due to the termination of the supply of components, Russia has reduced the production of passenger cars by 90%. But, we are Russia, a powerful economy, and we will revive the Moskvich Trademark. Say it sounds powerful? Revive the Soviet production, degraded at birth Less than a year later, they heroically revived the production of a real Russian car ... China sends its Chinese cars, and powerful Russia, having received permission from China, got the right to glue its nameplates on the hoods of Chinese cars, and call them .. MOSKVICH

You again give selective examples.
The new Moskvich is a Chinese JAC and you are right that in Russia the plant is doing modular assembly. Yes, this is the best at the initial stage, because people need to be trained. And in Togliatti they make good cars. I'm not saying that they are ideal, but Russia has the production of its own cars.
McDonald's or Vkusno i Tochka are pests because they feed people with low-quality products, which then make people obese. If they go bankrupt, it will only get better, and restaurants will take their place, which will feed healthier food.

[Gyfts]

The western sanctions will have a slow and graduate impact over the Russian economy. The negative impact will probably be higher in the upcoming years. Russia still has currency reserves, so the budget deficit can be covered. I wonder what will happen, after Russia consumes all the currency reserves and the budget deficit increases? Where will the Russian government find money to cover the budget deficit? Increasing taxes? Seeking a foreign loan from China, India or Saudi Arabia? Cutting government costs(which is close to impossible right now)?
Anyway, the life of the "average Ivan" in Russia won't change that much in 2023.

A year ago, Biden told everyone that the Russian economy had already been torn to shreds twice. Then the rhetoric changed that sanctions are working very slowly and the most terrible consequences will be sometime in the future. And then gradually comes the epiphany that right now the annual inflation in Russia is 3.5%, which is less than in the US and much less than in Europe. But you wait and believe, sometime in the future, the sanctions will definitely work as they should.

Western sanctions remind me of the prohibitions of our RosKomNadzor, according to which this forum is not accessible from Russia. I am from Russia and I am here.

Overly aggressive sanctions backfire, the west was too incompetent to realize that.

If the Biden administration had any remaining brain power left, they would've flooded the market with every hydrocarbon energy source imaginable in order to undercut Russian energy exports. They didn't do this, but instead increased reliance on green energy which doesn't even meet the energy demands of the west. Europe took this approach as well. And all of this made Russian oil more valuable.

Ironically enough, USD was weakened over the past two years. Somehow, Americans are shocked to learn that sanctions are mutual destruction.

[Hispo]

I watched a vlogger before, she was anti-war and anti-Putin but she explained in her videos that there are no major changes to the local citizens. She also proved it while going to the market, shopping mall, and streets. Prices are the same although some Western brands are limited there are some of them that are still available in their malls. Their basic needs are mostly unaffected according to her.

Russia is a giant country with only over a hundred million population. Its resources are overflowing especially the basic needs and this is probably the reason why its local population is not really that affected. They still have access to China and Indian markets when it comes to cheap and basic stuff. Those Western brands in the malls like Adidas, Puma, etc. as what I've seen in the videos are maybe local-made? Or maybe they came from China legally or smuggled as these 2 nations remained strong partners.

I believe that Russia still having access to most of the Asian market is what it could be saving her economy, only in China they can find pretty much anything they need when comes to products and their energy will always have some demand in India and China, due to the massive population in those countries and the industries there. If Russia did not have China as an ally then Putin would be indeed in serious trouble.

About the western products in the malls and stores of Russia, they are most likely counterfeits of Asian origin, if the price is low.
Since we talk about smuggling, some original products would take some extra work and the new "black" market for them would demand people to pay a premium to get the real thing.

Just my thoughts, I am not from Russia. So I can be wrong. 

[crunck]

I think Russia has done her assignment before embarking on this war, the funny thing about this sanction is that there are a lot of loopholes in it like allowing some countries to still buy Russian oil which makes Russia find a way around it. I am not saying what Russia did is right but I just feel the loser here is Ukraine, they allowed America to use them as a pawn, anyone with basic commonsense will know this is the hand of Esau and Voice of Jacob. I don't see how they come out of this useless war a winner, it is going to take years for them to recover, if at all. I also feel what hinders the success of these sanctions is the awakening of China and India, both are now big markets and don't fear or need to toe the line of America again but to protect their interest

Do you think that the Ukrainians should have surrendered to the advancing Russian army, rather than turn to the United States and NATO countries for help with weapons? Then Ukraine would cease to exist as a state. The Ukrainian government and all citizens who opposed the Russian invasion would be killed and tortured. Ukrainians would be placed in filtration camps, some would be sent to remote depressive territories of Russia, where, in fact, there is almost no civilization. The rest would be turned into silent slaves without family or tribe, because Putin, on the eve of the invasion of Ukraine, said that Ukraine is an artificially created state, therefore Ukrainians as such do not exist. And he would have made every effort to ensure that Ukrainians did not exist.

Now the Ukrainians, with financial assistance and arms assistance from the United States, have almost completely defeated the Russian "second army of the world", while capturing hundreds of their best armored vehicles and other weapons, with which they invaded Ukraine, as well as in several military operations liberated a significant part of their occupied territory. In September, Russia began mobilizing 300,000 conscripts. But their subsequent winter offensive did not lead to any tangible results. Now in Russia they are trying to mobilize at least 400,000 more people. All of them will become fertilizer in Ukraine, if they themselves do not overthrow their distraught bunker grandfather.

What nonsense are you talking about, Ukraine is about to lose more bakhmut to the Russians, and you are saying they are defeating the Russian army? The real advantage is in Russia, not Ukraine. I'm not saying Ukraine should surrender because that's not the solution, but as long as they stop listening to the US they'll be fine.

[Ayers]

Indeed, the economic sanctions imposed by Western Europe and the U.S. on Russia have primarily targeted banks, oligarchs, and technology imports. These measures were intended to curb Moscow's involvement in Ukraine's conflict and pressure the Russian government to change its policies. However, it is also true that the sanctions have not significantly impacted ordinary Russians' daily lives. However, economic sanctions can have long-term consequences on a country's economy, and it is difficult to predict their full impact over time. In the case of Russia, some analysts believe that the sanctions may have contributed to a decline in foreign investment and slowed economic growth.

Europe and the US have used almost all possible sanctions to put pressure on Russia. If it is not true to say that Russia is not affected, this will more or less affect the Russian economy is inevitable. But to say sanctions will kill or destroy the Russian economy so far, the plan of the US and its allies has completely failed. In the long term, I have a more optimistic view of the Russian economy because it will have time to find new partners and allies and fix things faster than it can. Europe is not the only customer in the world, so Europe's absence will be resolved, but things take time.

[Ozero]

What nonsense are you talking about, Ukraine is about to lose more bakhmut to the Russians, and you are saying they are defeating the Russian army? The real advantage is in Russia, not Ukraine. I'm not saying Ukraine should surrender because that's not the solution, but as long as they stop listening to the US they'll be fine.

Russian invaders have been storming the small town of Bakhmut since May last year. Moreover, it does not represent any strategic value in military terms. Under it, the forces of the PMC "Wagner" (about 40-45 thousand people), as well as the remnants of the elite of the Russian combat-ready army, were almost completely defeated. Moreover, the entire power of the Russian army is concentrated on this segment of the front and near Avdiivka. The entire winter Russian offensive came up against these small settlements and the large offensive of the Russian troops gradually bogged down. In the remaining sectors of the front, the Russians went on the defensive mainly because of the impossibility of a further offensive.

Now everyone is waiting for the offensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which may end in the complete defeat of Russia in this war. So far, the weather and the incomplete readiness of the Ukrainian army for the offensive do not allow it. But it will definitely happen within the next month. Then we'll see what will happen to the Russian army in Ukraine.

[zasad@]

Indeed, the economic sanctions imposed by Western Europe and the U.S. on Russia have primarily targeted banks, oligarchs, and technology imports. These measures were intended to curb Moscow's involvement in Ukraine's conflict and pressure the Russian government to change its policies. However, it is also true that the sanctions have not significantly impacted ordinary Russians' daily lives. However, economic sanctions can have long-term consequences on a country's economy, and it is difficult to predict their full impact over time. In the case of Russia, some analysts believe that the sanctions may have contributed to a decline in foreign investment and slowed economic growth.

Europe and the US have used almost all possible sanctions to put pressure on Russia. If it is not true to say that Russia is not affected, this will more or less affect the Russian economy is inevitable. But to say sanctions will kill or destroy the Russian economy so far, the plan of the US and its allies has completely failed. In the long term, I have a more optimistic view of the Russian economy because it will have time to find new partners and allies and fix things faster than it can. Europe is not the only customer in the world, so Europe's absence will be resolved, but things take time.

US economic sanctions are aimed at destroying the economies of the most powerful countries in Europe - Germany and France. And it works great. These countries lost the opportunity to buy cheap resources in Russia and lost a large share of sales in the Russian market. Now they are buying Russian oil in Africa and China.
link
https://www.wsj.com/articles/north-african-countries-snap-up-russian-oil-products-shunned-by-west-f63aa287

[South Park]

Indeed, the economic sanctions imposed by Western Europe and the U.S. on Russia have primarily targeted banks, oligarchs, and technology imports. These measures were intended to curb Moscow's involvement in Ukraine's conflict and pressure the Russian government to change its policies. However, it is also true that the sanctions have not significantly impacted ordinary Russians' daily lives. However, economic sanctions can have long-term consequences on a country's economy, and it is difficult to predict their full impact over time. In the case of Russia, some analysts believe that the sanctions may have contributed to a decline in foreign investment and slowed economic growth.

Europe and the US have used almost all possible sanctions to put pressure on Russia. If it is not true to say that Russia is not affected, this will more or less affect the Russian economy is inevitable. But to say sanctions will kill or destroy the Russian economy so far, the plan of the US and its allies has completely failed. In the long term, I have a more optimistic view of the Russian economy because it will have time to find new partners and allies and fix things faster than it can. Europe is not the only customer in the world, so Europe's absence will be resolved, but things take time.

Sanctioning Russia was the right thing to do, however we must recognize that sanctions hardly if ever work on forcing a government to change course, and what better example of this than Cuba, Cuba has been subjected to sanctions by the US for more than 60 years and yet communism is still there after such a long time and it is not like the Cuban government is close to change its ways anytime soon, then I expect something similar could happen at Russia, the living standards of the population will drop but Putin will remain in power.

[eaLiTy]

~
Does anyone really think that Russian elections are purely dependent on proportion of votes? I remember Putin briefly said that his government won't let other powers to come in government because it may be dangerous for Russia. I remember he said it when one journalist asked him a question about Navalny.

Does this sentiment shared by all the political parties globally, Democrats claim only they can be the saviors and anything further than that can ruin the country and likewise with Republicans.

I hope that no one believes that Russian statistics regarding the popularity of Putin is true. Well, if you go out and your friends who were Anti-Putin turned into Pro-Putin, then that's a very sad news.

How is he winning the elections for decades if he is not popular among his countrymen.

~
Oh and one thing, I don't doubt unemployment is down in Russia, with 300 000 dead and maimed for life and a further 400 000 kidnapped from the streets to serve in the military pretty obvious a ton of job openings are available right now!

The same is heard about Kyiv forcing people to fight in the front line without any training and people from 18 to 60 are prohibited from leaving the country after the martial law is implemented.

~
I live in Russia, in a province quite far from Moscow. I can't say that in economic terms nothing has changed over the year - some things got better, some things got worse. In general, people here live an ordinary normal life.

Good to hear from people who actually live there and that is the information that is shared by news media in my country as well as most of the Western media only share propaganda which has nothing to do with reality.

[coupable]

op relied in his evaluation on what he saw in the malls, that people are still able to shop, although he noted that overcrowding has decreased and that the number of products has also decreased with the increase in the prices of the rest of the commodities in the mall.  These are all indications that the economy has been severely affected by the sanctions, at least. 
And by searching into some of the economic indicators, we notice a significant decline in the Russian economy in all sectors, especially those that have no alternatives for their needs in Russia or in the allied countries.

[Ayers]

Indeed, the economic sanctions imposed by Western Europe and the U.S. on Russia have primarily targeted banks, oligarchs, and technology imports. These measures were intended to curb Moscow's involvement in Ukraine's conflict and pressure the Russian government to change its policies. However, it is also true that the sanctions have not significantly impacted ordinary Russians' daily lives. However, economic sanctions can have long-term consequences on a country's economy, and it is difficult to predict their full impact over time. In the case of Russia, some analysts believe that the sanctions may have contributed to a decline in foreign investment and slowed economic growth.

Europe and the US have used almost all possible sanctions to put pressure on Russia. If it is not true to say that Russia is not affected, this will more or less affect the Russian economy is inevitable. But to say sanctions will kill or destroy the Russian economy so far, the plan of the US and its allies has completely failed. In the long term, I have a more optimistic view of the Russian economy because it will have time to find new partners and allies and fix things faster than it can. Europe is not the only customer in the world, so Europe's absence will be resolved, but things take time.

Sanctioning Russia was the right thing to do, however we must recognize that sanctions hardly if ever work on forcing a government to change course, and what better example of this than Cuba, Cuba has been subjected to sanctions by the US for more than 60 years and yet communism is still there after such a long time and it is not like the Cuban government is close to change its ways anytime soon, then I expect something similar could happen at Russia, the living standards of the population will drop but Putin will remain in power.

Russia is a great power, has rich natural resources, and is the world's second largest supplier of oil and gas, a comparison with Cuba is a lame comparison. The US can only bully small countries but cannot crush powerful countries like Russia and China.

More than a year has passed, and we can see that Russia is still standing up to the sanctions and that their energy industry is bringing in huge revenue. With that, they have turned to Asia, looking for new partners, I really doubt that their economy will collapse or will fall into a deadlock like Cuba. If the US and its allies want to destroy the Russian economy completely, they should have a new, more effective solution.

[monineklutak]

Indeed, the economic sanctions imposed by Western Europe and the U.S. on Russia have primarily targeted banks, oligarchs, and technology imports. These measures were intended to curb Moscow's involvement in Ukraine's conflict and pressure the Russian government to change its policies. However, it is also true that the sanctions have not significantly impacted ordinary Russians' daily lives. However, economic sanctions can have long-term consequences on a country's economy, and it is difficult to predict their full impact over time. In the case of Russia, some analysts believe that the sanctions may have contributed to a decline in foreign investment and slowed economic growth.

Europe and the US have used almost all possible sanctions to put pressure on Russia. If it is not true to say that Russia is not affected, this will more or less affect the Russian economy is inevitable. But to say sanctions will kill or destroy the Russian economy so far, the plan of the US and its allies has completely failed. In the long term, I have a more optimistic view of the Russian economy because it will have time to find new partners and allies and fix things faster than it can. Europe is not the only customer in the world, so Europe's absence will be resolved, but things take time.

Sanctioning Russia was the right thing to do, however we must recognize that sanctions hardly if ever work on forcing a government to change course, and what better example of this than Cuba, Cuba has been subjected to sanctions by the US for more than 60 years and yet communism is still there after such a long time and it is not like the Cuban government is close to change its ways anytime soon, then I expect something similar could happen at Russia, the living standards of the population will drop but Putin will remain in power.

Russia is a great power, has rich natural resources, and is the world's second largest supplier of oil and gas, a comparison with Cuba is a lame comparison. The US can only bully small countries but cannot crush powerful countries like Russia and China.

More than a year has passed, and we can see that Russia is still standing up to the sanctions and that their energy industry is bringing in huge revenue. With that, they have turned to Asia, looking for new partners, I really doubt that their economy will collapse or will fall into a deadlock like Cuba. If the US and its allies want to destroy the Russian economy completely, they should have a new, more effective solution.

It's true that I don't think Russia's economy has been affected too much,
and it is not impossible that in the future the United States will continue to try to paralyze this sector,
what is clear is that it is not easy because after all Russia is a big and powerful country.

[Kakmakr]

Well, I cannot say I am glad for you... because the rest of the world (non-aggressors) are suffering because of Russia. The cost of fertilizer has gone up considerably, because the Ukraine has been one of the largest suppliers of fertilizer and that is pushing up food cost and inflation.

The Fiat currencies has taken a blow and many prices on the financial markets have received a lot of crashes, since the war started. They say, "When elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers the most" ...and the rest of the world are the grass. (the people that are not part of this war) 

[S A KHAIR]

Indeed, the economic sanctions imposed by Western Europe and the U.S. on Russia have primarily targeted banks, oligarchs, and technology imports. These measures were intended to curb Moscow's involvement in Ukraine's conflict and pressure the Russian government to change its policies. However, it is also true that the sanctions have not significantly impacted ordinary Russians' daily lives. However, economic sanctions can have long-term consequences on a country's economy, and it is difficult to predict their full impact over time. In the case of Russia, some analysts believe that the sanctions may have contributed to a decline in foreign investment and slowed economic growth.

Europe and the US have used almost all possible sanctions to put pressure on Russia. If it is not true to say that Russia is not affected, this will more or less affect the Russian economy is inevitable. But to say sanctions will kill or destroy the Russian economy so far, the plan of the US and its allies has completely failed. In the long term, I have a more optimistic view of the Russian economy because it will have time to find new partners and allies and fix things faster than it can. Europe is not the only customer in the world, so Europe's absence will be resolved, but things take time.

Sanctioning Russia was the right thing to do, however we must recognize that sanctions hardly if ever work on forcing a government to change course, and what better example of this than Cuba, Cuba has been subjected to sanctions by the US for more than 60 years and yet communism is still there after such a long time and it is not like the Cuban government is close to change its ways anytime soon, then I expect something similar could happen at Russia, the living standards of the population will drop but Putin will remain in power.

Russia is a great power, has rich natural resources, and is the world's second largest supplier of oil and gas, a comparison with Cuba is a lame comparison. The US can only bully small countries but cannot crush powerful countries like Russia and China.

More than a year has passed, and we can see that Russia is still standing up to the sanctions and that their energy industry is bringing in huge revenue. With that, they have turned to Asia, looking for new partners, I really doubt that their economy will collapse or will fall into a deadlock like Cuba. If the US and its allies want to destroy the Russian economy completely, they should have a new, more effective solution.

It's true that I don't think Russia's economy has been affected too much,
and it is not impossible that in the future the United States will continue to try to paralyze this sector,
what is clear is that it is not easy because after all Russia is a big and powerful country.

With cooperation between Russia and India, China. Not only has the Russian economy not collapsed and is recovering very well, the Russian people are quite satisfied with what they are going through because it does not look like a war. I think the US and the West have run out of sanctions and what they are doing now is increasing aid to Ukraine with the slim hope of defeating Russia.

[Argoo]

Russia as a state and Russians as a nation are now rapidly sliding into an abyss with a long period of economic decline, isolation from the outside world, a drop in living standards, which before that was at a minimum level compared to European countries, and most importantly, the degradation of the psyche and morality.

A recently captured Wagnerian told how, on the orders of his command, he, along with others, cleared the territory in Bakhmut, killing all the local residents, including the elderly, women and children. How the five-year-old girl squealed, whom he finished off with a shot in the head. How he destroyed the captured Ukrainians along with the Russian mobilized, who refused to storm the positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, throwing grenades into the room where they were, and then poured petrol over the still alive and set them on fire. The world was already horrified by the atrocities that the Russians are perpetrating in the occupied territories of Ukraine. Moreover, these are territories with a Russian-speaking population, which they allegedly came to liberate from the mythical Nazis, whom no one had even seen in their eyes.
Recently, the network was agitated by a video of a Ukrainian prisoner of war being cut off the head with an ordinary knife, which was deliberately distributed on social networks. The intent is twofold: partly to intimidate the Ukrainians, and partly to provoke a response of anger in them so that the Russians avoid captivity.

Both Russians and Ukrainians will have to live with this, and therefore the gap between these peoples is growing and expanding.

[Sithara007]

Well, I cannot say I am glad for you... because the rest of the world (non-aggressors) are suffering because of Russia. The cost of fertilizer has gone up considerably, because the Ukraine has been one of the largest suppliers of fertilizer and that is pushing up food cost and inflation.

The Fiat currencies has taken a blow and many prices on the financial markets have received a lot of crashes, since the war started. They say, "When elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers the most" ...and the rest of the world are the grass. (the people that are not part of this war) 

Factually wrong. Ukraine is not one of the top suppliers of fertilizer. For both Potash and Ammonia fertilizer, Russia is among the top exporters, along with Belarus. And the current shortage for Potash fertilizer is because of sanctions imposed on Russia, which prevents the export of fertilizer from it's Baltic ports. And Ammonia fertilizer has also got more expensive, as it requires natural gas as a feedstock. The price of natural gas has gone up by manytimes when compared to the levels in 2020 and therefore many of the manufacturers have shut down their plants.

[slapper]

Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hold on a minute, are you telling me that the sanctions against Russian banks, oligarchs, and technology imports have had no impact on ordinary Russians' economic lives? Are you sure you didn't just make that up?

I mean, I'm no expert in international politics, but it seems hard to believe that the global restrictions meant to decrease Moscow's war chest wouldn't have any effect on the day-to-day lives of regular Russians. Sure, the joblessness rate might not have increased, and the general store may look the same, but I find it hard to believe that there haven't been any changes.

Perhaps the crowds at some Moscow malls have decreased, but it's not significant? And local brands have replaced McDonald's and Starbucks? That's crazy! I can't imagine how ordinary Russians are coping with all of these changes, or lack thereof.

[Sithara007]

How do you feel about recruiters walking around town handing out conscription notes? Not long ago there was an article that they're planning to send summons through email and mobile phones and if you ignore them you'll get your driving license suspended and won't be able to get a loan.

It's already happened, and I think this is great news as it's another big step towards the downfall of the totalitarian system.

From what I heard, Russia has so far mobilized only those with previous military experience and members of the Rosgvardiya. On the other hand, Ukraine has gone through more than a dozen rounds of mobilization and young men of military age are rounded up from their houses and public places and forcibly sent to die in Bakhmut and Avdeevka. Every year around 300,000 conscripts join the military in Russia. They can easily recruit millions of former coscripts, but so far they have restricted their draft to the former contract soldiers.