As in the case of Iran, just what exactly are the sanctions meant to accomplish? except make ordinary Russians, most of whom have already suffered enough in their lifetimes, suffer even more. They’re not going to turn against Putin (and needless to say, he and his cronies aren’t suffering*), nor is he going to back down under these conditions.
See whole story: “Russia’s Steep Rate Increase Fails to Stem Ruble’s Decline“ by Andrew Kramer.
The scene at an electronics shop in Moscow. Fearing inflation, Russians are reacting to the falling ruble by snapping up expensive items like appliances and laptops. Sergey Ponomarev for The New York Times. (click)
Outside a currency exchange in Moscow on Tuesday. The ruble continued to slip in value despite the central bank’s decision to raise its short-term interest rate to 17 percent. Alexander Zemlianichenko/Associated Press. (click)
See also my : “The first two of my cents on Ukraine and Russia…“ from August 31st.
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Comment: nikobakos@gmail.com
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* Apparently, Putin made some crack when the EU announced restrictions on the export of foodstuffs to Russia, that: “Who needs their food? We have Russian vodka and caviar!” And then the joke immediately started going around: “Well, it’ll probably be moonshine and cabbage for most of us…”
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Jadde: from Bosnia to Bengal 
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