Business is going well in the Tsum department store in Moscow, despite sanctions. MLADEN ANTONOV / Contributor / Getty Images
After almost three years of war and numerous sanctions packages from the EU and the USA, the elites in Moscow appear to have come to terms with the situation.
The “Economist” describes in an article how Moscow’s high society continues to obtain luxury goods such as designer handbags.
Additionally, people in Russia use VPN clients to quickly and easily transfer money to foreign accounts.
While the fighting in eastern Ukraine has developed into grueling trench warfare, life in the Russian capital is different.
In the meantime, Muscovites seem to have rediscovered their hedonistic streak, writes a journalist from “Economist” in a report.
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This is how Russians are coming to terms with the sanctions:
The West’s efforts to weaken Russia through economic sanctions apparently have not had the desired effect. The Russian economy has not collapsed and the elites in Moscow have found ways to deal with the new situation.
According to The Economist, the Russian middle class can now easily buy Western products over the Internet. For example, on a special marketplace, iPhones would be offered in rubles, which could be paid for with Russian credit cards.
But luxury goods still find buyers in Moscow. Although most Western luxury brands no longer deliver to Russia, Moscow shops are well stocked with designer goods. According to the report, some of it is bought in Europe and then brought to Russia by private individuals. And some of the products are second hand. A store in Moscow developed an app that Russian customers could use to resell luxury goods.
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Easily send money using VPN clients
Another important tool used by the Moscow elite is VPN clients. These programs make it possible to disguise your own identity on the Internet. This means that people in Russia can continue to access blocked websites such as Facebook or Instagram. But VPN clients are not only used for access to social media.
According to The Economist, Russians have started using VPN clients to transfer money to newly opened bank accounts in Armenia and Kazakhstan. This would allow them to transfer money freely over the Internet, even though Russia is theoretically excluded from the Western financial system.
Not all Russians are doing well
The war and sanctions are certainly causing problems for the less privileged part of the population. In winter, food prices suddenly skyrocketed. In some regions, people would have had to buy individual eggs because they could not afford a whole pack. Agricultural products are expensive because there is a lack of skilled workers – because they are often soldiers at the front.
In addition, the cold winter poses major problems for the Russian infrastructure. In a city south of Moscow, 21,000 people are without heating, reported, among other things, “BR24„.
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