re: Russia SANCTIONS: Putin Hiding Money, Lover & 4 Children in Switzerland
Sanctions Damage Business in Russia
Russian and Western media, including the BBC, have halted their operations and Western manufacturers and brands have announced a boycott of Russia.
The rouble has lost around 25 per cent of its value, interest rates have doubled, the Moscow stock market has been closed for a week and Russia’s banks have been dropped from the international Swift payment system.
Police have detained around 7,000 people demonstrating against the invasion since it was launched on February 24. A law passed on Friday could mean a 15-year prison sentence for anybody who spreads negative views about the war. The Kremlin calls it a “special operation”, not a war or an invasion.
In Moscow, restaurants and cafes have closed and there have been reports of shortages of some medicines and of supermarkets, worried about potential food shortages, limiting what people can buy.
One Russian who has worked closely with the West for a decade said that business had collapsed since the invasion.
“It’s tense,” he said. “Almost all foreign companies have closed or have suspended business here, prices are rising and I can’t get money for the work done.
“There are ways to leave but as we have children, it is difficult for us to make a quick decision. We are trying not to panic.”
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