Neither Ukraine’s occupation of the Kursk region nor the West’s latest sanctions are causing discontent among the population of Russia’s largest cities. Economist Vladislav Inozemtsev writes in his column on The Hill that Moscow and St. He tries to explain why people in St. Petersburg are quite satisfied with their current lifestyle.
Two and a half years after their country’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russians appear less affected by the war than they were in 2022.
Neither Ukraine’s occupation of the Kursk region nor the West’s latest sanctions seem to cause discontent among “ordinary” citizens or the wealthy population of Russia’s largest cities.
This puts their hopes in the hands of Muscovites and St. Petersburgers due to their luxurious qualities such as Western boutiques, unlimited internet access and even easy operation. It came as a surprise to many Western politicians and Russian dissidents, who attributed it to the dissatisfaction of St. Petersburg residents with the “war economy”. Weekend trips to European capitals had disappeared. But even though Russia is significantly cut off from the West (you can only get to Paris or Berlin via Istanbul or Doha, and you need a VPN to access “forbidden” sites) all this offends too few people to cause any significant reaction .
How can we explain this silence among Russian communities, which are considered the most Westernized in the entire country? I propose a rather paradoxical answer. Although Russia seems to be the West’s most desperate enemy, Moscow and other Russian megacities have become much more Westernized in recent years.
Looking at Moscow, we see not only a huge concentration of wealth, where the capital provides 20% of all taxes to the Russian federal budget, but also the rapid modernization of the city infrastructure and the development of various digital services. It is found almost nowhere else.
Western sanctions imposed in 2022 led to a sharp decline in Russia’s capital exports. Almost all of the money previously directed to luxury real estate in Europe was spent in Moscow, St. Petersburg and their suburbs. Since 2021, the average cost of an apartment in Moscow has increased by 43%, and city authorities have invested heavily in developing transport infrastructure and promoting private businesses in the service sector to meet growing demand.
In the past decade, 78 new Moscow metro stations have been built, more than in the previous four decades, and the suburban train network has been integrated into a broader rail system, now similar to the Paris Métro-RER network. The city has the largest fleet of locally produced all-electric buses in Europe, and electric water trams strengthen Moscow’s transport infrastructure.
Despite the fact that Visa and MasterCard suspended their activities in Russia, Russians continue to use the Central Bank’s instant payment system, which allows you to transfer any amount of money instantly and without commission, using a mobile phone number as an identifier. Russian capitals are ahead of European cities in the use of QR code payments and facial recognition in financial transactions, and mobile communications in Russia remain the cheapest and fastest in Europe. Grocery stores stock the same range of products as before the war, including French wine and Italian pastries. Additionally, it is also common for food and goods to be delivered to the home by autonomous robots.
Of course, the consequences of the war are still being felt in Russia’s most prosperous regions. For example, the mass migration and increase in the number of conscripts in 2022 led to a labor shortage. But both in Moscow and St. The number of people sent to war in St. Petersburg is not very large, because the city’s residents are not even impressed by the record signing bonuses offered to volunteers. Meanwhile, increasing demand also increases local wages.
Moreover, job offers have become so attractive in recent months that many Russians who fled the country at the beginning of the war and could not integrate into European society are now returning. Even Western celebrities such as development economist Jeffrey Sachs attend glamorous international events such as the BRICS Urban Future Forum, attended by dozens of mayors from major cities in Asia, Africa and the Middle East.
Of course, Russian megacities have always been different from the rest of the country. But these days it is possible to follow developments to understand why Russian citizens manage to become increasingly rich while their country is at war with its closest neighbor.
As I argued in Le Monde 15 years ago, Russia’s post-communist society is highly individualized and, as the late Polish-British sociologist Zygmunt Bauman noted, focused on finding personal solutions to systemic contradictions. These people are not as worried as they are about the departure of liberal Russians, and they welcome the positive economic changes they observe in their daily lives.
This economic progress, fueled in part by the West’s confrontational policies, has weakened anti-Putin sentiment in the country more than any other factor. Today, it outweighs the decline in political freedoms in the country in recent years; because few people claim these freedoms, but everyone benefits from economic prosperity.
Therefore, the West’s attempt to undermine Russia economically since 2022 has led to the opposite result, at least for now.
The author expresses his personal opinion, which may not coincide with the position of the editors. The author is responsible for the data published in the “Opinions” section.
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Alfred Hart is an accomplished journalist known for his expert analysis and commentary on global affairs. He currently works as a writer at 24 news breaker, where he provides readers with in-depth coverage of the most pressing issues affecting the world today. With a keen insight and a deep understanding of international politics and economics, Alfred’s writing is a must-read for anyone seeking a deeper understanding of the world we live in.