As Russia invaded Ukraine, the U.S. and its allies hit back at the country by imposing economic sanctions on its rich oligarchs as well as on its export and import activities. The Russian economy has slowed to unprecedented levels, not witnessed since the end of the Cold War. It has overtaken Iran and has become the most sanctioned country in the world.
Although Russia will suffer from economic hardships, past economic sanctions on countries belonging to the Middle East have shown that there are consequences that follow such sanctions. Generally nations who are sanctioned by a group of allies move towards their adversaries.
In the current conflict between Russia and Ukraine, emerging super power China has not voted against Russia in the United Nations. Vladimir Putin was one of the few leaders who attended the Beijing Olympics. There is a stronger possibility of the relationship become even more stronger after the economic sanctions by the West and its allies. It could also redraw relationships with other countries who are Western adversaries.
Western sanctions have hit the pockets of Russian oligarchs and their luxurious lifestyle has come into the forefront, something the ordinary Russian may or may not be aware of. Luxury exports such as seafood, diamonds and alcohol have also been blocked by the West. Although these sanctions will effect the fortunes of the rich who run these export industries, the normal Russian who lives a simple life will also get affected.
However, the closing down of McDonald’s, Yum Restaurants, Starbucks, Coca Cola and PepsiCo as well as gaming and social media could have a larger impact on both the multinationals who earn a lot feeding the ordinary Russian with Western foods as well as Russians who have got used to taking such Western goods and services for granted due to their easy availability.
From a nutritional perspective, Russians will go back to eating their simple and hardy foods. However, they would most probably miss the sodas, burgers and pizzas and other Western aspirational items that had become the norm in Russia, until the Ukrainian invasion took place.
(Photo: Tomasz Makowski)
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