Povo russo vê sanções como um ataque à Rússia e a êles.
Whilst they have created for the Russian economy a mix of problems and opportunities, in political terms they are having the opposite effect to the one intended. Russians know and care about Ukraine in a way the west doesn’t and strongly support the policy the Russian government is pursuing there because they are sure it is right and because they consider it to be in Russia’s vital interests. By sanctioning Russia because of a policy towards Ukraine Russians overwhelmingly support, all the west has achieved is to convince Russians that it is against Russia and them.
The result has been to convince Russians that the west is hostile and to consolidate Russians’ support for their government and its policy towards Ukraine, causing Putin’s popularity to rise to stratospheric levels. Far from increasing pressure within Russia on the Russian government to change its Ukrainian policy, the sanctions are doing the opposite. Regardless, the view of the sanctions amongst the Russian public clearly differs from that of the West. Ordinary Russians increasingly feel that the West has embarked on a mission to undermine Russia as a nation on the international arena. Rather than venting anger over Putin’s foreign policy and its repercussions on the economy, the president’s approval ratings remain high at 79%, up from their all time low of 53% prior to the annexation of Crimea, according to the Levada Center.
A representative of the polling center has underlined that newfound trust in the president and the “organs of power” has come about largely due to Moscow’s “management” of the crisis in Ukraine. In fact, a large part of the population supports the idea that Western sanctions will encourage economic growth and development at home while strengthening Russia’s economic position in the long run. Evgeni Yacin, of the National Research University and Higher School of Economics, goes even further to contend that the only goal of the sanctions – to portray Russia as an evil force – has already been achieved and the policy of the Russian Federation should now be to search for internal drivers of growth.
