During the summer holidays, Moscow changes. Instead of the usual hustle and bustle, traffic jams and rushing people, there is a cozy indolence over the city. Parks and squares are trimmed to a high gloss with lush flowers, the Muscovites who are not at the dacha or on the Black Sea coast sit in cafés or on park benches and seem content – this year too. The shelves in the supermarkets are bursting with fresh vegetables from Central Asia. Western products are still available in large numbers, even if some have become significantly more expensive, from Milka and Ritter Sport chocolate to Barilla noodles and Nivea products. If you didn’t know that the Kremlin started its war against Ukraine six months ago, which in Russia has to be called “special operations”, and that the West imposed unprecedentedly severe sanctions for it, you wouldn’t have to notice anything in the Russian capital. Only a few posters praise Russian soldiers who have received medals, and on a high-rise building in the center, illuminated windows form the “Z” for military action at night.
Catherine Wagner
Business correspondent for Russia and the CIS based in Moscow.
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Alexander Wulfers
Editor in the economy of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sunday newspaper.
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In keeping with the facade of carefree summer happiness, not only Russian authorities, but also international organizations such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have recently improved their forecasts for the Russian economy this year: instead of the 8 percent slump that was expected in spring, the IMF is now only going still expecting a minus of 6 percent; Russia’s economy ministry is even more optimistic at minus 4.2 percent. Inflation, which was almost 18 percent in the spring, has also fallen below 15 percent again. According to President Vladimir Putin and his propaganda machine, the sanctions have had no effect: the Russian economy is likely to emerge even stronger.