Posted on 05/21/2022 5:29:24 AM PDT by Cecily
Some years ago, I lived on Kutuzovsky Prospekt, one of the wide, radial roads that leads into central Moscow — and the favoured route of President Vladimir Putin’s motorcade to the Kremlin.
Putin never liked travelling in helicopters so the 18-vehicle extravaganza, including outriders, an ambulance and a string of gleaming, black limousines with tinted glass, was a familiar sight.
Around 45 minutes before it passed, the road would be sealed — and I mean sealed. A security man was stationed in the doorway of my apartment building preventing residents from leaving.
The Russian president has always been security conscious, but today, on the losing side of his ‘special military operation’ in Ukraine for which he has only himself to blame, Putin is more paranoid than ever.
He rarely ventures even into his office at the Kremlin now, preferring to do business from his grand, yellow-painted, pillared mansion on his summer estate, Novo-Ogaryovo, in an exclusive suburb popular with rock stars and oligarchs just west of Moscow.
People come to him if and when he wants to see them. And increasingly, he doesn’t.
He has his staff, his bodyguards, his team of food tasters and so on, but for months senior ministers, advisers and aides with whom he would once frequently consult, have been kept at a distance. The pandemic facilitated this — but he shows no sign of wanting to change the status quo.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
Any loyal Freeper would rat out scum like that to the proper FR authorities in a New York minute.
I know I would.
“The more I see this nonsense, the more I know that Putin is winning.”
Did Putin seize Ukraine? No. Did he try? Yes.
He’s losing this war.
And the Russian people who don’t give a damn about the censorship rules are starting to speak out about the declining quality of life in Russia on account of Pidor Putin’s vainglorious war of conquest.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vQgx28vNsg
Okay, all of Ukraine has taken over in two months, hence the war is lost. How logical is it?
As for the video I don’t get your point. Okay, Ikea has closed and the mall it was the main tenant in is not so busy anymore during the work hours in the middle of the week.
It is not indicative regarding other malls, and this one is likely busier of weekend as well.
None of those posts have anything to do with Ukraine.
Malls and stores all over Russia are hurting due to Putin’s war. This guy is one of several posting video that shows exactly what’s happening.
A lot of effort went into copying all those posts... he probably just needs a nap. 😀
The video seems legit until a few red flags in the grocery store, where he shows R199 a kilo tomatoes saying how big the price is “amidst the tomato season whereas the normal price is several times less”, and then similarly prices potatoes “which is normally R20”.
First, he picks the most expensive of these in the organic aisle when the regular price is much less, second the tomato season in Russia is in August and in May they are traditionally overpriced.
Now, both products can be had at the same store for much less, or much lesser in other stores, tomatoes like half than and potatoes for third.
And malls are normally not busy on busy days afternoons.
That betrays the video as propaganda.
There are indeed some shops temporarily closing, but it needs to be taken into account that the very same products can be imported parallelly and from cheaper countries, whereas in Russia the distributors are setting the prices of premium market. For one thing an H&M shirt priced $49 in Russia is only $19 in Turkey. As a parallel import it is going to cost $29 max, which is good for the consumer and bad for the original company, and that’s if the gray dealers want the original brand. On the other hand the H&M is ordering its produce in Asia and their contractors don’t mind to produce extra product putting some other label on it and the very same shirt is going to cost $9. The Russian retailers are currently in process of solving the problem around the same lines.
The electronics traders already solved it right now, and iPhone 12 Pro Max can be bought in regular store for half to 2/3 the price it was at specialized Apple stores in February.
The same is happening on the auto market where the official dealers tied to the manufacturers are trying to sell dwindling supply for like $500k for a Mercedes GLS and it is obvious that nobody is buying. Meanwhile, with the parallel import legalized, the gray dealers are bringing cars from third countries at lesser prices than they were two months ago.
Car and electronics markets are higher margin and lower in volume compared to clothing and they were quicker to solve it, the same is going to happen on clothing market even if it is going to take more time.
Thank you very much for your detailed information! I sincerely appreciate your perspective here!
I’m also hearing the exchange rates at the borders are ridiclous. People leaving Russia and trading their rubles are getting robbed 800 to a dollar on the Estonian border. Note that the trades are on the Russian side, black market traders get arrested in Estonia.
Daily Mail has no credibility left anymore.
I have no idea what was happening at border but can’t exclude that some swindlers were exploiting the panic in the early days.
In real life, you can buy forex in banks. The rate is not great, but the markup is like 10% not 800 to 1 and it was like that forever. If you have a broker account you can buy at exactly the exchange rate and withdraw to your account. There were limitations on cashing dollars and euros from the accounts at $10k per month until mid-April, now lifted to $50k. That was for individuals, not businesses. No problem with wiring abroad if you know the right banks.
Exactly!
Thank you for sharing. Will you have podcast on other platform than Twitter?
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