© Vladimir Gerdo/TASS/dpa/picture alliance/Surgei Chirikov/Evgia Novozhenina/Reuters/KJNImpact of Sanctions on Russia
More and more Russians are losing their jobs due to Western sanctions on Russia, and some are having to painfully rethink their future. With some sanctions' effects yet to be felt, the number of unemployed could grow.
Until mid-January, Alexander (name changed) worked 12-hour night shifts in a factory and took home
35,000 rubles ($506, €480) per month. The 22-year-old student from the Saratov region, in southwestern
Russia, wanted to become a pilot, but when medical reasons made this impossible, he set his sights on becoming a flight attendant instead.
He came across a job advertisement for a Russian airline and immediately applied. He was invited for an interview and a practical test in Volgograd, both of which went well. By this time, Alexander had already quit his job in the factory. The airline offered him good terms — a training course in Moscow followed by a contract position with a monthly salary of around 100,000 rubles ($1,445, €1,370).
But he never got to do the training.On February 24, Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine — and foreign companies began to leave the Russian market. Western sanctions against hundreds of individuals and companies, including airlines, were also adopted. In addition, the West closed its airspace to Russian planes and banned the sale, delivery and transfer of planes and replacement parts to Russia. This caused aviation leasing companies to terminate the contracts for planes in Russia, but Russian companies did not relinquish their vehicles. However, these leased planes now fly only a few domestic routes.
Comment: Motto: "Leave the thinking to us."