Western sanctions imposed on Russia as punishment for its invasion of Ukraine have not had the colossal impact European leaders had hoped for, but ordinary citizens are feeling certain restrictions that have changed their daily lives, The Moscow Times notes. In Moscow, the rental market collapsed, the recipes of some sweets were changed, the crematorium was closed, and the Internet speed on mobile phones decreased. This is only part of the problems that arose as a result of repressive measures against the Russian Federation.

The EU imposed unprecedented sanctions against Russia in response to its unprovoked and unjustified invasion of Ukraine on February 24 and its illegal annexation of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhia and Kherson regions. Added to them are those imposed by other countries, such as the USA and Australia.

Russia’s economy has not collapsed as analysts predicted, and Vladimir Putin is constantly looking for new ways to avoid these measures to fuel his war machine.

Now, more than nine months after Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine, the shortage of goods is felt by ordinary citizens of the most sanctioned country in the world, where some recipes for sweets have been changed due to restrictive measures, the speed of the Internet is slower, fewer buses ply the streets , and several crematoria are closed.

Recipes have changed

A confectionery factory in the Ural city of Perm, one of the largest in the region, was forced to change the recipe of some products, as Western sanctions stopped the import of key ingredients.

“There are raw materials that objectively cannot be produced in Russia. For example, we don’t grow cocoa beans,” said the director of the candy factory, Boris Schweitzer, in an interview with the local news channel 59.ru.[Obținerea] many ingredients have become problematic.”

And it wasn’t just changing recipes that was a challenge that came with Western sanctions. The plant had to look for new equipment after suppliers from Italy, Germany and Great Britain stopped working.

Low internet speed

According to a study published in March by the Russian intelligence service TelecomDaily, the speed of high-speed mobile Internet in Russia has fallen compared to the same period last year.

And problems related to Internet speed will increase as European giants in the field of telecommunications, such as Nokia and Ericsson, leave the market, which is an obstacle to the modernization of Russian networks.

Some mobile operators in Russia have repurposed frequencies used for 3G networks for LTE services, pro-Kremlin newspaper Izvestia reported in November, but experts say the move will not solve the problem in the long term.

The crematorium is closed due to sanctions

A crematorium in the southwestern Russian city of Voronezh was closed in November after its only Czech-made cremation chamber failed.

It is unclear whether it will be able to be reopened, as the faulty furnace cannot be replaced due to the European Union’s ban on the export of high-tech goods to Russia.

Russian specialists and representatives of the Czech supplier of cremation equipment Tabo-CS are working on the repair of the furnace, but the date of resumption of the crematorium cannot be named, the website De Facto reports.

According to the manufacturer, waste incineration equipment from the Czech Republic is used in dozens of other Russian cities, including St. Petersburg and Novosibirsk.

Dozens of cities no longer have buses

Local carriers in 84 cities of the Russian Federation have canceled up to 200 bus and trolleybus routes this year, according to a study by the Simetra company.

One of the reasons for these changes is supply chain disruptions due to sanctions, which have also affected Russian automakers.

For example, work at the Tikhvin Wagon Building Plant in Leningrad Oblast was suspended for more than two months in the summer because it ran out of American-made ball bearings, which are critical to the production process.

There is no plastic for new ID cards in Russia

Russia has been trying to replace its national passport system with a national digital identity card for almost a decade, and the new plastic cards were even planned to be trialled in some regions this year, but Western sanctions forced the authorities to put the scheme on hold. indefinite project.

Among the reasons for this implementation is that Russia cannot produce enough microcircuits and plastic to make cards, Forbes Russia reports.

The wind started blowing in shopping centers and office buildings

The number of vacancies in office buildings and shopping centers in Russia continues to increase as a result of the exit of large foreign retailers.

By the end of the year, the vacancy rate in Moscow shopping centers is expected to reach 17%, according to real estate consulting company NF Group, reported by the Russian economic daily Kommersant in early December.

And 12% of office buildings in Moscow will be empty by the end of the year, according to a representative of the consulting firm CORE.XP, who is also quoted by Kommersant.

Russian pilots no longer have access to training

Russian airline pilots have nowhere to train after Turkish Airlines banned Russian pilots from using its simulators for training.

Turkish airlines made such a decision due to fears of becoming the object of sanctions by the Aviation Safety Agency of the European Union.

Turkey’s decision has a significant impact, as not all types of flight simulator training devices are available in Russia or “friendly” states, according to experts consulted by the independent publication The Insider.

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