The sanctions seem to have a strange effect on Russian society, writes a St. Petersburg journalist in HS’s Letters from Russia series. Credit cards work the same way as before.
Man get used to anything. Even to war. Especially in a situation where the war waged by your own country never poses a danger to your own life or health but only affects prices. Russians are getting used to economic crises. They have gone through several of these lately without getting into wars.
As Russian troops took over the first parts of Ukrainian soil, huge traffic jams occurred in St. Petersburg at unexpected times.
The situation was very delicate and unclear, so people wandered around to be able to hold on to their savings. At least those citizens who had something to hold on to. Some went to banks, some to jewelers or car shops. The less well-off were filled by electronics stores or regular supermarkets. Currency exchange forms its own, separate story, which I will certainly tell in the future.
As the end of February approached, the panic was over.
Notice on the side of the vending machine: only credit cards and cash are accepted as means of payment, making it impossible to use Google Pay.
The Pull & Bear and H&M shopping centers closed.
Closing notice at the front door of the Sephora store in the center of St. Petersburg. It speaks of “temporary closure”. Gift card holders are advised to wait for the store to reopen. The validity of the gift card will be extended beyond the closing time.
For ATMs no more queuing, and credit cards are valid and work everywhere in the same way as ever before. Some banks even made the terms of use of the cards more affordable for customers. There were only minor problems with Google Pay, but only a few Russians use them. Those few dug their credit cards out of their pockets.
Giving up Western branded goods is clearly a worse problem. St. Petersburg is a modern city whose inhabitants are accustomed to a certain standard of living. Some stores have closed and many stores have announced in advance when they are leaving. This is a customer-friendly way because, for example, the sudden departure of Ikea (the store was closed the day after the closure announcement) led to huge queues and even quarrels and fist fights.
The OBI of another popular household goods store is due to catch up, but no one knew when.
OBI: n there is something remarkable about the store. In some parts of the store, everything is more or less as usual, except for the prices, of course: all the price tags are brand new (and their prices are 30-60 percent higher than before) and I even found a mirror with two different price tags. The removal of the old had only gotten forgotten. This is illegal, of course, but who cares? There are ancestors on site, but everyone is nervous, vicious and unfriendly.
“What do you want from me?” growled the salesman, who read on the chest tag Lyudmila. “Of course, the right price is the higher price, but I’m not sure if you can buy that mirror at all. If you really need it, I need to check to see if these are in stock. The goods on display no longer matter. Yesterday we were banned from selling any samples. You can complain to whom you are. We will close soon and after that I will be unemployed, so I am not interested. ”
It was apparently time to sell the goods from the bathroom furniture department before the previous day’s ban. The department looks weird. Sticky wires, bulk and dust in a space that was just a few weeks earlier was the perfect bathroom furniture showroom.
Also There are a lot of empty shelves in the Prism. The Finnish supermarket company said it was gradually withdrawing from the Russian market and also announced a store-specific closing schedule.
Almost all goods are sold at huge discounts. The cheapest and most popular had disappeared from the shelves in a couple of days. The rest are still on display. “Thank you and welcome again” i.e. the standard phrase at checkout is still heard. The customer smiles against. “How long am I still welcome?” “Yeah, yes, we’ll definitely stay open until at least the end of this week.”
During the weekend, queues of 30–50 customers were formed in stores selling Western clothing. Each carried in their hands at least five or six products, which in some cases were all similar. “I’ve bought three pairs of similar jeans,” says a friend Kirill, 43. “I like this model and know it’s right for me. The store manager suggested that I also buy light jeans. Why? I have to wear these combs until I am old and I am not going to wear light jeans as a retiree anymore. ” Good spoil.
McDonald’s is also a big loss. It’s been extremely popular with teenagers, but you can’t really go to a political demonstration just because you don’t get a burger or modern jeans anymore.
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And, of course, every new sanction increases the number of anti-Western people in Russia.
“Yesterday we were forbidden to sell any samples,” said the homeowner. Before the ban, someone had time to buy.
So, therefore politics…
Sanctions seem to have a strange effect on Russian society. It would probably have been different if the sanctions had been imposed abruptly and one at a time. However, the longer the war lasts, the more prepared people are to receive ever more economic shocks. They start to treat them with a smile on their lips. This is not the first time that sanctions have been imposed on Russia.
Some Western products such as cheeses were banned in 2014. However, some of them returned in less than a year. The rest was replaced with local products.
And, of course, every new sanction increases the number of anti-Western people in Russia.
“America and Europe have gone crazy,” he says Irina45.
“Excluding Russian cats from international cat shows is just silly, and throwing our disabled athletes out of the Paralympics is really ugly and inappropriate. Neither cats nor athletes have anything to do with war and politics. ”
The Russian government actively supports such views. Putin said recently that the strict sanctions are being imposed on every Russian citizen and are a clear indication of the West’s attitudes towards us.
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“America and Europe have gone crazy,” says Irina, 45.
I would like to end with a quote from a recommended message channel From Lentach. The quote received more than two thousand mostly positive comments within 24 hours of its publication. It is important to add that Lentach is truly independent and famous for his fresh views and criticisms.
Screenshot of Lentach’s page.
“It seems the tightest possible sanctions are aimed at punishing the 20 per cent of Russians who still oppose the Putin regime. The greatest annoyance is caused by the sanctions on the ‘European Russians’ who were mentally on the Ukrainian side. It was they who had flown to Europe, used Spotify and watched Netflix. The oligarchs were not much affected by the sanctions and did not affect Putin’s nuclear supporters in any way. They got paid for Mir credit card accounts and traveled to Sochi for holidays and have never heard of Netflix. ”
Joe Biden said the only option for sanctions is World War III. It hasn’t even been heard here, or if it has been heard, it has been considered a bluff.
St. Petersburg is written by journalist Mikhail, whose real name is not published for security reasons. Working as an independent journalist is now a threat to perpetrators in Russia that could lead to arrest or imprisonment.
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