MOSCOW (AP) — It’s not just Russian billionaires feeling the pinch of western sanctions, even though they were the ones who were initially targeted.
Last week, tens of thousands of Russians who were sunning themselves on Italian beaches and Turkish resorts received an unpleasant surprise. Their tour companies had gone bust, stranding them and forcing them to pay double for a ticket to get home.
The bankruptcy was the fifth among major Russian tour companies in less than two months — a sign that cracks are appearing in Russia’s economy.
As a result of the sanctions, the Russian currency has fallen, hurting the ability of the average Russian to travel abroad and buy imported goods. And as new sanctions by the U.S. and Europe start to bite, companies worry about a looming recession, and a future without access to the West’s massive financial markets.
The U.S. and the EU have accused Russia, which annexed Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula in March, of fomenting tensions in eastern Ukraine by supplying arms and expertise to a pro-Moscow insurgency. The West has imposed asset freezes and loan bans on a score of individuals and companies.
Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
