Moscow seeks a ‘sense of normal’ amid Ukraine conflict

At Moscow’s sprawling Izmailovsky outdoor souvenir market, shoppers can find cups and T-shirts commemorating Russia’s deployment of troops into Ukraine — but from the 2014 annexation of the Crimean Peninsula. There’s nothing about the “special military operation” that began six months ago.

Throughout the capital, there are few overt sign that Russia is engaged in the worst fighting in Europe since World War II. Displays of the letter “Z” — which initially spread as an icon of the fight, replicating the insignia painted on Russian military vehicles — are hardly seen.

There are only some scattered posters on bus shelters, showing the impassive face of one soldier or another and the words, “Glory to the heroes of Russia.” The posters give no clue as to what the man did, or where he did it.

The public reticence, or denial, about the operation in Ukraine is striking in a country where military exploits are deeply woven into the social fabric. The annexation of Crimea produced almost instant memes, notably images of President Vladimir Putin that called him “the most polite person.” a smug variant on the characterization of Russian troops as polite. Victory Day, marking the defeat of Nazi Germany, is obsessively observed with weeks of anticipation.

Although the belief that Russia can create homegrown alternatives to businesses that left has become an article of faith among officials, many Russians have private doubts.

A survey by the Levada Center, Russia’s only independent pollster, found that 81% of Russians believe the country will be able to replace foreign food operations with domestic alternatives, while only 41% think local industries can fully substitute for electronic goods and only a third believe domestic car production can make up for the loss of imports.

The automotive industry was slammed by sanctions that dried up the supply of parts. The state statistics service said car production in May had fallen a punishing 97% from the same month in 2021. Putin recently admitted Russia’s shipyards are also suffering supply shortages.

The desire to take vacations has been a peculiar success story for Russia’s sense of self-sufficiency in the sanctions era. Denied easy air connections to Western Europe — industry experts say Russian travel to popular Italy has dropped to nearly nothing — Russians have found exotic domestic destinations, such as Sakhalin Island, 6,300 kilometers (3,900 miles) from Moscow, where tourism reportedly is up 25%; traffic to Baltic Sea beaches in Kaliningrad has reached all time daily highs.

Tourism to Crimea, however, is expected to be about 40% lower than usual.

Although Moscow’s streets show little indication that a conflict is raging, the airwaves of full of the news. The flagship news magazine show on state TV, Vesti Nedeli, recently devoted nearly an hour — about half its running time — to the Ukraine operation. Lengthy segments painted the Kremlin’s military as highly effective, using top-of-the-line weapons.

About 60% of Russians rely on state television as their main news source, but may find it unreliable. A Levada survey this month found that fully 65% of Russians disbelieve some or all of what they see on state media about Ukraine.