Economics
Resignation Sets In as Russians Face Their New Economic Reality
- Crisis-hardened households say they take sanctions in stride
- People withdrew $14 billion one day after Putin ordered attack
This article is for subscribers only.
Russian consumers are more resigned than panicked as they are forced to adapt to a new way of life in an economy the rest of the world is seeking to financially devastate for President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
That’s the new reality after a week in which the ruble crashed, inflation and interest rates jumped and foreign suppliers of everything from food to cars vowed to stop doing business in Russia. Alongside U.S. and European sanctions, seven of Russia’s biggest lenders are now banned from the SWIFT international messaging system.