Russian banks went down en masse, the spread of foreign currencies was larger than the official numbers, and people were queuing outside the banks to withdraw money.
Of course, the Russian narrative is that this will hurt the west more than it will hurt Russia...
https://www.bestchange.com/sberbank-to-tether-trc20.html
There was drop of like 5-10%, but that's nothing special. You can still go and buy as much USDT as you want for reasonable price. And this is what majority of normal people use to move money out of country.
PS: I am obviously anti-Putin dude, but at this point sanctions make very little difference short term. Giving more weapons to Ukraine is the only way to stop Russia.
Correct. Long term, the effects of a materially-high real interest rate, capital controls and the demographic and technological degradation of sanctions and the war directly are starting to show their teeth.
Sanctions won’t stop this war. But they’ll facilitate degrading Russia so it is in no position to launch the next. (Weapons will stop this war.)
Old soviet joke:
Dad: Looks like vodka will become more expensive.
Son: Dad, are you going to drink less now?
Dad: No, son, now you are going to eat less.The semiconductor shortage is militarily relevant, as are the increasing delays in repairing damaged refineries and power plants [1].
> current rate Putin can fund war indefenetely
Setting aside demographics, his war engine relies on oil, an increasingly-stranded asset [2]. (Over geopolitical time scales.)
Putin is blowing grandma’s inheritance on fast cars.
[1] https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/us-sanctions-ham...
[2] https://www.cnbc.com/2024/06/12/big-oil-given-stark-warning-...
What semiconductor shortage? Who is affected by them? Russia is buying literally everything through Turkey, Kazakhstan and other ex-USSR countries. US and EU exports to ex-USSR countries are booming.
Of course Russia can't just sneak up some giant oil refinery or LPG equipment, but semiconductors are super easy to smuggle. Even more so since they have unlimited budget.
Which increases cost and lag time. It also means they’re restricted to commodity components; it’s even harder for them to have custom components fabricated.
Blockade runners have always been a thing. The point of the blockade is to increase cost, lag and uncertainty. That’s the difference between blockade/sanctions and siege.