As of: January 24, 2024, 9:33 p.m
By: Lisa Mahnke
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Press
Split
The Russian elite is divided.
Neither side believes that the sanctions will be successful.
Shortly before the presidential election they preach: wait and see.
Moscow - Two months before the presidential election in Russia, the elite there is complaining about the prices, but politically they are divided: While some find the problems within themselves and advocate an end to the war, the sanctions policy strengthens anti-Western resentment among others.
According to political scientist Ilya Grashchenkov, large parts of the elite see no possibility of influencing Vladimir Putin's election and want to wait and see what happens afterwards.
It is coming to terms with the sanctions, the war and Putin, she told
Verstka
.
“The mood is good, collected, but not panicked, nothing like that – it will be 70/70,” an anonymous Russian MP also told the independent media portal from Russia.
That means: 70 percent turnout, 70 percent for Putin.
Despite everything, the Russia election could be exciting because even if the president remains the same, he wants to
reshape his cabinet, according to
Verstka .
There is still no answer as to who will be allowed to remain in office and who will not.
Political scientist Grashchenkov warned especially about “angry patriots” who have been able to expand their power in recent years.
Russian elite accepts sanctions – sense of responsibility allows perseverance
“On the one hand, no one likes what is happening, and of course almost no one supports the war.
But as long as there are ways to adapt to the situation and make money, they generally do well,” Alexandra Prokopenko, a visiting scholar at the Carnegie Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies in Berlin, told
Verstka
about the paradoxical mood.
According to Prokopenko, in addition to the “ever-growing lists of personal sanctions,” the elites’ sense of responsibility is also a decisive factor in supporting the war in Ukraine.
It was not until December 18, 2023 that the EU member states adopted a twelfth sanctions package, which was directed against 140 additional people from Russia.
Even if there is criticism and concerns before the presidential election, no one believes that Putin's war in Ukraine will end quickly.
© picture alliance/dpa/Pool Sputnik Kremlin |
Gabriel Grigorov
Business
Insider
reported that a large part of the Russian elite had come to terms with the situation under the sanctions packages: With the help of VPN clients and special marketplaces, money could still be transferred and luxury goods purchased.
The elite still indulge in luxury, albeit with difficulty.
The feeling of responsibility allows the elite to persevere, complaining primarily about price increases for luxury goods and services.
Russian elite recovers despite sanctioned vacation - people worry about basic supplies
Elsewhere, an official complained to
Verstka
that vacations were more expensive.
His weekend vacation with his wife and children in the Moscow region would have cost him 250,000 rubles (2,588 euros).
“A normal lunch there costs 30,000 for me, my wife and my children, well, with alcohol and fish and seafood,” explained the anonymous interviewee and then immediately switched to the topic of the Ukraine war: After the vacation, he was “rested again and angry” and wants to collect humanitarian aid in addition to solving the problems on the front.
He and his colleagues are calling for an end to the war that respects “at least part of the Minsk Agreement.”
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An anonymous Russian political strategist told
Verstka that
“there is a neutral, angry mood.”
What comes next, however, seems by no means neutral: “We have to finish off the enemy and build a normal life without Europe.
An ordinary civil war,” he explained.
He also wants an end to the sanctions, but his path to achieving this goal is clearly in favor of war.
While the elite are looking forward to the elections, according to an anonymous source from Russia's Federal Parliament
Verstka
, the common people are preoccupied with other concerns: "They don't care about the elections, they care about eggs, milk and prices of consumer goods." Also Payments will be taken care of.
“In summary: the elite, as they call it, is in an active, rather tough mood, while the people are apathetic, as they always have been,” the source explained.
(lismah)