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In less than a week it will be one year since the outbreak of war.

How have Ukraine, Russia, Europe and the world changed?

All about the topic:

Russian invasion of Ukraine 9429

Do Russians live in a parallel world - how have they been affected by economic sanctions, the travel ban and the announced partial mobilization. 

In a special interview for BNT, the former Prime Minister of Russia Mikhail Kasyanov and the professor at the Moscow State University Prof. Andrey Manoilo speak.

Mikhail Kasyanov, Prime Minister of Russia (2000 - 2004): "

."

Prof. Andrey Manoilo, M.V. Lomonosov MSU: "Actually, a year after the start of the Special Military Operation in the Russian Federation, few things have changed."

Mikhail Kasyanov was prime minister during Vladimir Putin's first presidential term

Vladimir Putin - Russian politician.

Born on October 7, 1952 in Leningrad, now St. Petersburg. 20 years ago, he later became the leader of an opposition party and one of the most vocal critics of the Kremlin.

Since last March, he has been living in Riga - for security reasons.

Prof. Andrey Manoilo lives in Moscow and teaches at Lomonosov Moscow State University.

After the start of the war, Russia tried to convince its citizens that their lives would continue as before.

The West begins to impose more and more severe sanctions - from the export of gas, through the banking system to the freezing of assets of individuals.

Already in the first days of the invasion, large companies left the country - from the automotive, energy, food and entertainment industries, in the fields of trade, logistics, aviation.

Prof. Andrey Manoilo: "When a significant number of Western companies announced that they were ceasing operations in the Russian Federation, there were serious fears that when they left, technology would also disappear. The second fear was that many Russian citizens would find themselves out of work, those who worked in the companies in question. But all this turned out to be - to a large extent - exaggerated. Because - first - Western companies left the Russian market, Russian ones came in their place. The personnel of Western companies were successfully employed. And many Russians de facto they didn't change their place of work. Many of the Western companies that said they were withdrawing from Russia have actually returned at this point, just under different names."

Mikhail Kasyanov: "For the average Russian, everything has changed - first of all, it is felt by those who we call the middle class, the residents of the big cities, who had good incomes and already had the opportunity to plan the future and that of their families, to get an education, to travel abroad, to earn money from private business or by working in various corporations. Now for them the change is cardinal. People are already deprived of it. The economy is shrinking - not as fast as the experts predicted when the aggression began. But the sanctions are already working and people can't help but feel that."

Opportunities for Russians to travel abroad were limited.

The EU has decided to end the visa-facilitation agreement for Russian citizens, arguing that Russians are resting and shopping in peace in Europe while bombs fall over Ukraine.

Prof. Andrey Manoilo: "Russian society has learned to live in the new reality that began with the beginning of the special military operation in Ukraine. And in this regard, when the country moves to a new stage of development, to another state or phase, people experience some stress, but then they begin to adapt to the new conditions. And this attitude, people in Russia have learned to live in the conditions imposed from February 24, 2022".

Mikhail Kasyanov: "And all this is accepted by those people who either do not have the opportunity or do not want to receive alternative information and form their own opinion about what is happening in the country and what Putin is doing with Ukraine. This is terrible! But we we find that part of the Russian population is already brainwashed, deluded, put to sleep, and supports Putin and his aggression".

Mikhail Kasyanov: "

. It will take at least 10 years, in my opinion, to regain and rebuild trust with the civilized world." .

Russian invasion of Ukraine

Vladimir Putin