The ‘operation’ against Ukraine, which Russia started by saying that it is essential to ensure its security, has been going on for a week with all its violence. While the war between Russia and Ukraine has brought the tension between the East and the West to the highest level, the war, especially with the sanctions, is made cruelly felt not only to the Russian administration, but also to the Russian people.
Sanctions to collapse Russia’s economy and harm its inner peace naturally affect the Russian people directly. So much so that in just one week, hundreds of European and US companies decided to terminate their services to Russia. However, some of the imposed sanctions created a great controversy on social media.
Racism – ‘entitlement’ discussions were born:
Some companies and organizations that decided to impose sanctions on Russia due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine started to restrict people with fines just because they were Russian. For example, the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra dismissed Russian conductor Valery Gergiev, while Italy’s University of Milan banned the teaching of Russian writer Fyodor Dostoyevsky. While these and similar ‘sanctions’ were defended by some on social media, they were heavily criticized by others and interpreted as racism and fascism.
Note: The University stated that this decision was ‘misunderstood’. The incident continues to be discussed in the Italian public.
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