Russia returns to Soviet life: A new Iron Curtain isolates Moscow from the rest of the planet

Washington.- Vladimir Putin wanted to restore the Soviet Union. And, at least when it comes to economics, freedom and relations with the world, he has succeeded. Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the start of a new bloody war in Europe, Russia has made a leap into the past. A new iron curtain was lowered to isolate Moscow from the rest of the planetAnd from decades of integration Perestroika Mikhail Gorbachev disappeared two weeks later, leaving millions of Russians behind Soviet life.

Before the start of the war in Ukraine, the Russians could Eat at McDonald’s, Drink coffee at Starbucks, drink Coca-Cola or Pepsi, use a Visa or American Express credit card, easily send or receive money, buy euros or dollars and travel to Europe to learn about your country and world news. Independent Russian or Western media, without censorship, and posting and reading on social networks. All that is no longer possible. The Blitzkrieg From Western sanctions, More than 300 companies left the country and Putin’s iron hand to suppress independence isolated the country during the height of the Cold War. Russia became an international giant.

“When Putin tried to turn Ukraine into a ruin, so did he Turns Russia into a prisonVictoria Nuland, Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee this week.

Sanctions turned Russia into an island. Sending or receiving money is now more difficult, credit cards and ATMs have stopped working, and the Kremlin has had to ban foreign currency purchases for six months, a pessimistic “stock” in the face of the Western siege of central bank reserves. Anders Åslund, a writer and economist who specializes in Russia, tweeted that “Putin destroyed the ruble”. Russian bonds were downgraded to “junk” by S&P Global, Moody’s and Fitch ratings. One day after the occupation of Ukraine, Russia announced that it would close the stock market to prevent the sale of a large investor, which will happen sooner or later. The bag is still closed for more than two weeks. Fitch said a new default is “instantaneous”.

“It does not mean that Russia has no money. That money cannot be used by Russia.” The Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund noted. Kristalina Georgiev.

In another throwback to the Soviet era, Putin imposed Brutal talk on press freedom. His government enacted punitive legislation Imprisonment for up to 15 years for “fake news”, Or Fake newsEmpowering the Kremlin to punish any news that contradicts the official message, Including calling the war “war.” In Ukraine. As soon as the new law came into force, the foreign media left the country. The Western media, such as the BBC, CNN, The New York Times, and Bloomberg, each began to remove their journalists and close their newsrooms. Russia’s last independent store, Novaya Gazeta, announced on March 4 that it would stop covering the war, and a day later another independent Dost channel suspended its broadcast.

“Under the Soviet dictatorship, in the depths of the Cold War, this never happened,” Cliff Levy, co-editor of the newspaper, tweeted. New York TimesIn the middle of the retreat.

Independent or without foreign media, Russian civilians become prisoners of the Kremlin’s story, Including “special military action” to achieve the “denunciation” of Ukraine. The siege and lockout of the Western media deepened Social media. Putin cut off access to Western public media outlets in Russia, such as the BBC, accusing the Kremlin of spreading lies and misinformation after Europe’s ban on broadcasts by Russia’s state media, Russia Today and Sputnik. , Voice of America or DW, and Facebook and Twitter were banned, followed by Instagram. Dictok has stopped live videos from Russia. Telegram and YouTube are still available, but it’s hard to guess how much longer.

Western companies’ aircraft broke four decades of integration in two weeks. Breaking ties with Russia – freezing or selling investments, closing operations or terminating trade ties – involving energy companies such as British Petroleum, Shell and Exxon; Wall Street banks such as Citi, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan; Traditional brands such as Ford, Ferrari, Mercedez Benz, Apple, Nike, Prada or Chanel and new economists like Spotify or Airbnb. Russia exited without the Champions League final and the World Cup in Qatar.

“In history, at least in modern history, a country like Russia has never been economically isolated by these measures because it was not even done with Germany during the war. We have never done this,” he said. Nation Monica de Polle, economist at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, spoke on sanctions.

“It simply came to our notice then. What will be? Any business that survives, if it survives, is local. The outside world has basically closed its doors to Russia“, Full.

International Monetary Fund Estimates for this year a 30 percent fall in Russia’s GDP. As a result the economy will be in the early 2000s. “Two decades of growth soared in smoke”, Robin Brooks, the company’s chief economist, summed it up.

De Paul warns that the withdrawal from Russia, the 11th largest world economy, puts the world in an unrecognized territory. With no intention of going to World War III – US President Joe Biden has repeatedly said that NATO will defend itself but will not fight Russia in Ukraine – the Western powers have chosen the alternative route: suffocating Moscow. And its obstacles to the Putin regime. Due to demand, oil and gas exports are now largely exempt from sanctions. The United States has banned them, but not in Europe, where Russian gas is needed to survive. Similarly, the prices of crude oil and gas and food items have risen sharply. De Bolle sees a lasting impact and is concerned about the risk of a “Global inflation has been rising for a long time” Lasting, which cannot fight in the traditional way with monetary policy.

“We are already at a point where it is no longer a question of how long the war will last. The truth is that what has been imposed on Russia is already going to destroy its economy. If the war ends tomorrow, the sanctions will not be lifted immediately,” he said. They closed businesses and left with bundles of bundles. They will not be back soon. It’s easy for a company to pack up and leave. It is very difficult to bring them back. ”

The new crisis reminds him of the onset of the corona virus infection, which many believed would have a temporary, limited impact. “Like an epidemic, we don’t really know,” he concluded.