Blog #3

A Broken But No Battered Global E

Russia’s first McDonald’s store opened in 1990 months after the end of the Berlin Wall, which was a symbol that the Cold War was ending and there was going to be a more ideological peace globally. However, after Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine, every McDonald’s in Russia is closed which is one minor consequence that Russia faces after choosing, what writer Flavio Macau argues is either “territorial hegemony over global trade”. War against ideology is something that is at the front of everyone's mind. 

Despite gas prices spiking after Russia’s fossil fuel exports were interrupted. However, there have not been any significant disruptions to Russian exports. The US and UK have placed bans on Russian oil exports; however, other Europeans have imposed sanctions on Russian energy producers but are still buying their products. Russia has a 12% global share which makes not Russia’s oil challenging and finding a replacement in Russian gas even more difficult. There has been a spike in food prices as well which has caused the United Nations Food and Argument Organization to raise warnings about food security in both Africa and the Middle East. 

After hearing these issues being raised because of Russia’s actions, it led me to wonder how do Russian citizens feel about Russia declaring Dunn discusses how Russian people are disagreeing with Russia’s actions calling this “Russia’s War on Ukraine. In the article, “It's Putin's war, not the Russian people's war” writer Monica states how Russian citizens are not in agreement with the actions of Russia invading Ukraine. What is worse is Russia is punishing its citizens for speaking out about their disagreement with the newly enacted censorship law. These laws make any person speaking out against the Russian government's narrative about the war, including by calling it a "war" or "invasion," faces up to 15 years in prison. It's sad that Russian citizens are in disagreement about the war and cannot speak about how sanctions against Russia are not just impacting Putin and his oligarchs.

 

Comments

  1. Carter GoltermannMarch 28, 2022 at 9:16 PM

    I completely agree with the points made in this paper. It is horribly sad that the Russian civilians are forced to stand idly by (from fear of punishment) as the rest of the world groups them with the decisions of their leader. I find it even more sad that the repercussions Russia is facing from the rest of world, are affecting its citizens when the original goal was to affect Putin and his associates. Inversely, although harder said than done, I think it is necessary for the Russian public to continue to vocalize their disinterest in continuing this war in order to see real change follow. Putin's success hinges on the support of those he leads and the access to military weapons and money that he is given. There are many articles published about the lack of motivation and organization throughout the military, and if this lack of support continues, Putin will no longer have an army to defend his rash decision making. I had also not previously thought on how this war would create a greater food insecurity for underprivileged countries in Africa and the Middle East, and it was eye opening to be shown a different viewpoint then that of the US. In order to stop what could grow into another great depression or economic crash, this war must end in the very near future.

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  2. Max GilbertMarch 30, 2022 at 3:44 PM

    I thought this was an extremely well-written, and insightful blog. It is so hard in conflicts like these to contextualize what is happening in the background, when news and media sites gain our focus by keeping us up to date with actual combat. Yet the Russian are completely being grouped into the same category as Putin in some sense, and if not that extreme, they are being silenced, and forgotten about altogether. In reality, the war is entirely Putin's own insane conquest, and yet the Russian people can choose to obide and be silent, or go to jail for speaking out, truly the definition of a dictatorship.

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