If it weren't so stressful, Russian citizens who aren't sleeping at night could start counting the international companies who are pulling out of their country instead of sheep. That list is growing daily and includes names like Apple, Coca-Cola, and Intel.
Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram
Apart from the numbers, there is major significance to the number of companies leaving. Their products on shelves and their logos on billboards showed that Russia was part of the global world in generation and a consumer of western goods and habits in particular. When Swedish retailer IKEA announced it would be leaving the Russian market, hordes descended on the company's branches, only to be criticized for choosing consumption over, for example, taking part in either the fighting in Ukraine or demonstrations against it. Many in Russia have already realized that the future under President Vladimir Putin no long holds any promise, and are rushing to save something from the comfortable world to which they've grown accustomed.
None of this is stopping the digital iron curtain from coming down on Russia. The government adopted what it calls "fortress protocol" for the detainees in mass arrests at political protests. Their telephones are confiscated, lawyers are not allow into the detention facility, and the people in charge of the information are the ones to decreed the policy in the first place. Now, the entire country is entering "fortress protocol" – the only information allowed to be published is what the Russian defense ministry or other official bodies put out. Until two days ago, they were claiming that there were no Russian casualties, and they are still sticking to the narrative that this is a "special operation to liberate Ukraine from the Nazis" (who exist in Putin's imagination).
Given the draconian restrictions, many independent media outlets have announced they are shutting down. The popular radio station Echo of Moscow was cut off, something that last happened in 1991 in the days of the putsch, then announced it would cease operations. At least 10 other news sites, which months ago were designated "foreign agents," have been blocked. One non-propaganda media outlet that is still running is the Novaya Gazeta, and that is only after its Nobel Prize laureate editor in chief Dmitry Muratov removed headlines about the Ukraine war.
Now begins the test of Russia's citizens. Thus far, most have not been disturbed to see freedom of speech eroded and independent media outlets marked or closed down. True, inflation has spiked this past year, and on average, quality of life has declined since the Kremlin started its criminal adventures in Ukraine, but for the most part, it is acceptable. As long as there are sausages in supermarkets, most Russians will quietly forgo a little more freedom.
Many of them have gotten used to the twisted picture of the world that the propaganda outlets broadcast day and night – they have been told that the government in Kyiv is a threat, that neo-Nazis have taken over, that Russia seeks peace but the West wants to steal its wealth. More than a week into the war, many Russians on social media still believe that the army was sent to "liberate Ukraine." No one can know if they are writing from enormous naiveté, or simply because the idea of leaving the Russian screen of lies is an idea too terrible to live with. Now that the windows to the outside world have been shuttered, the Kremlin is trying to prevent its base – the mass of regular, apolitical people – from being exposed to the bitter truth. The problem is blocking Facebook won't restock the shelves that have been emptied because of the powerful sanctions.
In 2005, Putin said in a famous speech that "The dissolution of the Soviet Union was the greatest geopolitical tragedy of the 20th century." In 2022, there are signs that he is bringing the biggest tragedy of the 21st century down on Russia.
Subscribe to Israel Hayom's daily newsletter and never miss our top stories!
