Western sanctions in Russia | Not the shock we expected

In Saint Petersburg for a few weeks, Professor Yakov Rabkin gives us in a series of texts his impressions through the testimony of the local population.

Yakov M. Rabkin
Professor emeritus of history at the Université de Montréal and co-author of Demodernization: A Future in the Past

(St. Petersburg, Russia) Since my last trip to St. Petersburg last January, Russian consumers have had to deal with many changes. Western visitors too. Just going to what is called “Russia’s northern capital” becomes a different experience.

Last time, the flight from Montreal to St. Petersburg was about 11 hours, with a brief connection in Paris. Today, no Western airline flies to Russia, and no Western country allows Russian planes into its airspace. Russia adopted similar measures in response. Accordingly, the intrepid traveler should embark on a 24-hour journey via Helsinki, Finland, or Tallinn, Estonia, the two nearest airports open to Western planes. Once there, seven or eight hours by bus are needed to reach Saint Petersburg. Fortunately, at this time of the year, the three cities enjoy sleepless nights when, as Alexander Pushkin, the most famous of Russian poets said, “the morning twilight quickly replaces the other and grants only ‘half an hour at night’.

Once in the country, other tribulations are in order. Canadian credit cards are useless since Western countries have cut off Russia from most international payment methods.

I remember paying with my CIBC card here in the middle of the Cold War. Now I have to bring cash and exchange it for rubles. The Canadian dollar is now worth 41 rubles, down from 61 in January. The sanctions have severely limited Western exports to Russia. Which, in turn, weakened the demand for Western currencies and strengthened the local currency.

But locals receive their income in rubles and spend it mostly in the country, since Western countries have restricted travel from Russia. A visit to the neighborhood supermarket didn’t produce the shock I expected, sort of. Prices seemed slightly higher, but the stock was as varied as usual. According to published statistics, fruits and vegetables have seen the largest increases, up to 75% in four months, while meat, dairy, eggs and fish have increased by just 3%. Overall inflation hit close to 8% in April, a month after Russian forces entered Ukraine, but not only has it returned to normal levels, it is also lower than before (0.12 % in May against 0.99% in January).

Alternatives

Western spare parts can no longer be imported. Civil aviation, composed mainly of Boeing and Airbus, is clearly affected. Imported cars also make up the bulk of motor vehicles in the country. While I was in a Volkswagen taxi, I asked the driver how he planned to maintain his car. “Of course, genuine parts imported through third countries will become more expensive, but Chinese analogue parts have been available for a long time and work almost as well. »

The disappearance of IKEA and other popular Western stores opens the door to local initiatives, although they may take time to offer comparable quality and variety. A building contractor I met this week seemed optimistic: “Most of the Western-branded supplies we use were produced in Russia. I don’t expect any shortages, although some specialty items may need to be sourced from Turkey or China. »

McDonald’s also disappeared, its infrastructure having been sold to a local company. The few thousand employees have been retained and have now joined his successor.

Fourteen new restaurants installed in the former premises of McDonald’s opened their doors in Saint Petersburg at the beginning of the month in a festive atmosphere, with ribbon cutting and press conference. Although I avoid fast food myself, I visited one to chat with customers. They seemed happy and didn’t mind the absence of the familiar wrappers and golden arches: “The look is different, but the food is almost the same. »

Coincidentally or by design, all 14 post-McDonald’s opened on June 22. This day is called the Day of Sorrow and Remembrance in memory of June 22, 1941, when Germany and its European allies invaded the Soviet Union. One of the clients I spoke with made the connection between the two events: “Our grandparents survived starvation during the 900 days of the Nazi siege of Leningrad. I can certainly do without the Big Mac. Like, it seems, most of his compatriots.