The conflict in the Ukraine progresses on three levels – the propaganda war, which the Ukraine is winning hands down; the military war, where the Russian side seems to be making steady progress; and the economic war, where the US & EU are aggressively pushing extensive sanctions. One of the interesting issues is what kind of bite the sanctions are having on the Russian public. Here is an interesting report from a front-line correspondent:
Gilbert Doctorow – International relations, Russian affairs
Sanctions have apparently succeeded in cutting off the supply of salmon from the Faroe Islands. Presumably the Russian population will survive this blow.
Apart from that, there has been the expected replacement of various food & drink items from sanctioning countries to … other suppliers, of which there appear to be no shortage. An interesting question is how imported fresh fruits are getting to Russia. The implication is that certain cross-border transportation systems are working without any issues:
“One fruit counter in the Pushkin market offered wonderfully scented honeydew melons from South America and perfectly ripe watermelons from Iran. Other counters featured large and very attractive cultivated blueberries from Morocco. I can only imagine that these products are arriving air freight, as surely did the fish from Turkey, to assure the evident level of freshness.”
Prices are up – as is true in the West also. But sanctions don’t seem to be causing any critical shortages, at least so far. Of course, students of the impact of sanctions on Iran would have guessed that anyway.