• Sanctions on Russia
• Food Crisis in Russia
• Russian Workforce
• Possible Solution

Sanctions on Russia

As tensions between Russia and Ukraine continue to rise it brings on the question of who is impacted by all these sanctions. We can currently see the impact on the world as gas prices skyrocket as Russian oil is no longer being provided to the rest of the world. We also have been given 24/7 access to see what is going down in Ukraine, but few have asked the question of what is happening in Russia. The reality of this question is quite dark as a large amount of foreign companies who conducted business in Russia have halted their business bringing the Russian economy to grinding halt. With this the average Russian family has been left crippled by the country they have no control over. The sanctions are intended to target the Russian politicians and oligarchs who are waging this war but the economic sanctions have reflected a very different goal. Some of the companies stop or limit activities in Russia include Adobe, Airbnb, Amazon, Apple, AWS, BMW, Ford, GM, Honda, Bumble, Disney, Electronic Arts, Epic Games, Fujitsu, Goldman Sachs, Google, IBM, Intel, Microsoft, Netflix, Nintendo, Nvidia,  Paramount,  PayPal, Rockstar Games, Samsung, Snapchat, Sony, TikTok, Twitch, Ubisoft,  Universal, MSC, Maersk, Warner Bros, Boeing, and Airbus. With all of these companies leaving the country it brings to question how is this going to stop one of the most powerful people in the world from attacking Ukraine. these acts seem mainly performative as a PR move to make it seem like these companies care about the well being of Ukrainian citizens but there hasn’t been much investment by these same groups into relief efforts so it brings to question the actual motive behind the action.

Food Crisis in Russia

With all of these companies leaving Russia the average Russian citizen is left wondering what did I do to deserve this. The average Russian citizen has no more say in the government than you or I, and many have even come out and condemned the actions their country have taken against Ukraine, despite the harsh sentences such actions can carry in country. A primary example of this can be demonstrated through the food imports of Russia. For instance in 2013, about 40% of the food consumed within Russia was imported. The import share for meat was around 25%, and up to 70% for fruit. Russia and Ukraine also combine to make up 29% of the global bread market which has caused prices too skyrocket more than 70% already. In addition to this Russia produces almost no tomatoes of its own; the bulk of most of these items are imported from Turkey. when considering this, it is scary to think that nearly a third of all the countries who used to export food to Russia have cut ties with country leaving millions of people in search of where their next meal will come from. The ultra wealthy class of oligarchs are the people who really run the country and there is no way to stop these people as the money and businesses they run have given them more power than most people could imagine, but the rest of the world continues to impose sanctions that will only hurt the average working class people.

Russian Workforce

According to Bloomberg, about 3 million Russian citizens work in Western companies and joint projects financed by Western companies. so according to the way the rest of the world is reacting should these companies really fire 3 million people because of the decisions of an elite few. If anything these people need support just as much as those in Ukraine do as they are victims of there own countries policy. According to Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan, Russia`s economy will shrink by 7% over the course of this year alone. to give some context on this when Russia defaulted in 1998 its GDP only fell by 5.3%. In addition to this 8.4 million Russian citizens have seen there employment status changed due to the sanctions and changing policies of those interacting with Russia. In addition to all of this the Russian Central Bank has increased its key interest rate to 20% more than double what it was before the sanctions. Protests have been another way Russian citizens have been impacted as demonstrations in Moscow are too small to beat an enormous Russian police force. By March 10, a little less than 20,000 Russians have been arrested for protesting. In all the total number of protestors tally less than 100,000 in a country of 145 million. while this may seem low it is important to remember that going to these protests can carry a punishment of potential jail time. other citizens have reported instances of being expelled from colleges for their views on the war.

The Solution

The biggest problem, the world faces when addressing is Russia is the fact that nations are left to go to war or place economic sanctions, these options will not yield a beneficial outcome. that is why the option that I propose will not hurt Russian citizens or cause a world war. I believe that all capable countries should give Ukraine weapons support so that they can continue to fight the Russian onslaught and beat them; not literally as Russia is too big and spread

out, but financially. Instead of hurting worlds economies nations could use the money they would be losing to build weapons to lend to Ukraine which will eventually lead to the war becoming to expensive for Russia to continue and they will give up as they are running on an outdated military from the Cold War era. This is the only option that will leave undeserving citizens out of this mess while still fighting to keep Ukraine. It is also important to make sure that these weapons are taken back after the war as the world could look at potential issue like what happened in Afghanistan after the United States armed them.