Russia: Winning the battle and losing the war?
The price of victory
As the world watches Ukranians’ homeland being destroyed with every passing second of the Russian advance, there is this growing sense of anger. Of resentment, against Russia.
Why did you have to do this, Russia? What did Ukraine ever do to warrant an invasion? What did Ukranians ever do to deserve to suffer such a terrible fate?
This anger, however — though it has its roots in rationality, sometimes tends to be misdirected. Russia is not to blame. That would imply that the whole nation is at fault. That the Russians are at fault.
They are not. Vladimir Putin is. The actions of one man, one deranged tyrant, are enough to blemish the reputation of a country that is made up of 144 million other people. Such is the tragedy of the Russian people.
Many Russians do not support the war. Protests against the invasion have taken place in more than 50 Russian cities. More than 6,500 demonstrators have been arrested in Russia for protesting against the invasion. In spite of their opposition to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, however, it is also these very Russians who must suffer the squeeze of sanctions and boycotts from multinationals, who are shutting down their operations in the countr
By no means am I comparing the Russians’ suffering to the Ukranians’ suffering. Many Ukranians are fleeing their homeland, some are watching their homes being destroyed, many are perishing in battle, and many more are watching their loved ones being snatched from them by this war. Compared to all of this, the Russians’ suffering seems almost trivial. But they are suffering nonetheless, for no fault of theirs.
Already, a mere week into the Russian invasion, ordinary Russians are beginning to feel the effects of sanctions.
In an interview to BBC, Dania, a project manager in Moscow, revealed how he could not pay with his phone anymore because VTB Bank (a Russian Bank) had been cut off from Visa and Mastercard (and as a result Google Pay and Apple Pay). Due to this, he had been unable to use the metro.
Another Russian, Anton, expressed his frustration about Russia’s currency shortage & the devaluation of the Ruble. “There are no dollars, no roubles — nothing! Well, there are roubles but I am not interested in them.” he explained. Indeed, there has been a run on banks in the recent days in Russia (i.e too many people have tried to withdraw money). This has led to the value of the ruble collapsing.
In fact, some Russians want to leave the country altogether. Andrey, who is an industrial designer, for one, declared — “If I could leave Russia right now, I would. But I can’t quit my job.”
Public opposition is just the tip of the iceberg. Even some Russian soldiers have refused to fight against Ukraine. One viral video, for instance, shows a soldier throwing down his weapons in surrender and bursting into tears as the Ukrainian locals offer him tea and pastries.
My point is this: sanctions are well & good when it comes to stirring up unrest among the population and forcing Russia to back down. But in the process, it is the common folk that suffer. Common folk, like you and I, who have nothing to do with the war. Who despise the war as much as all of us. Who just want peace.
I am not arguing against the imposition of sanctions — in fact, I strongly support it. But I do so with a heavy heart. Because no matter how much you try to selectively target the Russian oligarchs — it is the common people who suffer the most, and this is what we must remember. As the media does a commendable job reporting on the Russia-Ukraine crisis and documenting the suffering of the Ukranian people, the Russians, too, suffer. But they suffer in silence.
