THE NEW YORK TIMES: Besieged by an onslaught of sanctions that have largely undone 30 years of economic integration with the West in the space of two weeks, President Vladimir V. Putin on Thursday opened the door to nationalizing the assets of Western companies pulling out of Russia and exhorted senior officials to “act decisively” to preserve jobs.
With Russia in danger of defaulting on its sovereign debt and facing a sharp contraction in its economy, the West is betting that the looming, generation-defining economic crisis could make Russians turn on their president. It is also possible, however, that the crisis could end up strengthening Mr. Putin, validating his narrative that the West is determined to destroy Russia.
“I have no doubt that these sanctions would have been implemented no matter what,” Mr. Putin said in televised remarks on Thursday, arguing that his invasion of Ukraine served merely as a pretext for the West to try to wreck Russia’s economy. “Just as we overcame these difficulties in years past, we will overcome them now, too.”
But the sanctions imposed in the two weeks since the invasion — combined with multinational companies that employ tens of thousands of Russians voluntarily deciding to withdraw amid the global outrage — dwarf any other economic pressure that Russia has faced under Mr. Putin.
With the ruble having lost nearly half its value in the last month, prices of basic goods have risen sharply, causing panic buying at supermarkets. The central bank, which has kept the Moscow stock exchange closed since the war began, has introduced new capital controls, preventing companies from withdrawing more than $5,000 in cash for the next six months. » | Anton Troianovski | Thursday, March 10, 2022
