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Moscow,
Mar
03:
A
week
after
Russian
President
Vladimir
Putin’s
decision
to
invade
Ukraine,
life
in
Russia
has
changed
drastically.
Hardly
any
economic
sector
—
be
it
finance,
transport
and
travel,
culture
or
sports
—
has
been
left
untouched
by
the
unprecedented
sanctions.
With
new
measures
being
imposed
each
day,
it
is
not
easy
to
keep
track.
It
is
like
the
form
of
torture
known
as
“death
by
a
thousand
cuts”
—
and
the
Russian
economy
is
beginning
to
bleed
heavily.
In
just
a
few
days,
the
ruble
has
lost
a
third
of
its
value.
There
are
reports
of
queues
at
ATMs
and
people
are
encountering
problems
when
they
try
to
pay
by
card,
or
to
use
payment
methods
such
as
Google
Pay
or
Apple
Pay.
There
could
soon
be
a
shortage
of
domestic
appliances,
clothes,
and
shoes
from
the
West;
such
items
could
once
again
become
rare
commodities,
as
in
Soviet
times.
Some
experts
are
already
predicting
a
double-digit
economic
slump
should
the
current
trend
continue.
For
now
though,
the
Kremlin
is
trying
to
be
optimistic.
“Indeed,
the
Russian
economy
has
been
under
severe
pressure;
a
strong
blow
has
been
dealt
to
it.
Yet
we
have
strength,
potential
and
plans,
and
energetic
efforts
are
being
undertaken.
It
will
remain
standing,”
government
spokesman
Dmitry
Peskov
said
on
Wednesday
in
Moscow.
The
Kremlin’s
general
attitude
is
that
the
situation
on
the
markets
will
soon
calm
down.
Russia
no
stranger
to
sanctions
After
all,
Russia
has
been
adapting
to
Western
economic
sanctions
since
at
least
2014,
when
it
annexed
Crimea.
At
that
time,
the
government
came
up
with
a
euphemism
to
describe
sanctions,
and
Russian
media
outlets
spoke
of
a
“new
economic
reality.”
However,
this
time,
the
blow
is
considerably
heavier,
and
already
a
new
crisis
center
has
been
set
up,
with
Russian
Prime
Minister
Mikhail
Mishustin
at
its
helm,
to
keep
the
turbulence
under
control.
European
and
United
States
flight
bans
on
Russian
aircraft
are
hitting
Russian
aviation
very
hard,
with
travel
companies
reporting
a
70%
drop
in
bookings.
Russians
who
do
make
it
to
a
foreign
beach
will
have
to
carry
lots
of
cash,
because
certain
Russian
banks
have
been
excluded
from
the
global
SWIFT
payments
system.
At
least
three
hospitals
in
Thailand
are
now
only
accepting
Russian
patients
who
can
pay
cash.
It
might
also
not
be
so
easy
for
Russians
on
holiday
abroad
to
fly
home
if
they
do
not
already
have
tickets.
Unexpected
‘extreme
situation’
Russia’s
central
bank
reacted
to
the
crash
of
the
ruble
by
raising
its
key
interest
rate
from
9.5%
to
20%
to
counteract
the
devaluation
and
prevent
an
inflationary
spiral.
But
the
bank
is
under
unprecedented
pressure,
and
seems
to
have
been
taken
aback
by
the
Western
decision
to
freeze
two-thirds
of
its
reserves.
The
governor
of
the
bank,
Elvira
Nabiullina,
told
employees
in
a
video
address
that
all
had
hoped
not
to
be
faced
with
this
“extreme
situation,”
according
to
news
agency
Reuters.
The
business
daily
Vedomosti
reported
that
for
now,
Russia’s
middle
classes
are
most
worried
about
the
crisis.
Some
restaurants
in
Moscow
have
seen
a
60%
drop
in
customers.
But
the
sanctions
will
hit
all
citizens,
the
newspaper
predicted.
“Russians
used
to
see
sanctions
as
a
‘punishment
for
the
elites,’ but
now
they
are
beginning
to
realize
that
everyone
is
going
to
be
affected,”
it
wrote,
citing
a
psychologist.
In
the
daily
newspaper
Kommersant,
well-known
economics
expert
Sergey
Utkin
warned
of
“massive
economic
losses
and
the
destruction
of
the
way
of
life
of
entire
social
classes.”
He
added
that
this
is
all
a
consequence
of
the
Ukraine
campaign.
Sports
and
culture
deeply
affected
Few
people
in
Russia
had
apparently
reckoned
with
sanctions
in
the
areas
of
sport
and
culture.
Ever
more
Russian
athletes
and
teams
are
being
excluded
from
global
championships.
The
Champions
League
final
has
been
moved
from
St.
Petersburg
to
Paris
and
other
events
are
similarly
affected.
This
will
cause
losses
to
the
hospitality
sector
worth
millions.
Some
Russian
artists
such
as
the
conductor
Valery
Gergiev,
a
supporter
of
President
Vladimir
Putin,
are
even
losing
their
jobs
in
the
West.
But
it
is
Russia’s
cinema
sector
which
will
take
a
major
hit.
When
the
latest
Batman
film
will
hit
screens
worldwide
on
Thursday,
Russians
won’t
be
able
to
see
it.
The
blockbuster
is
one
of
three
releases
that
US
producers
have
pulled
in
Russia.
Cinemas
expect
to
lose
70%
of
their
income
as
a
result.
Western
films
usually
generate
some
75%
of
their
revenues
and
if
the
situation
does
not
improved
by
May,
experts
expect
that
many
movie
theaters
could
go
out
of
business.
This
article
was
originally
written
in
German.
Source: DW