Russians Are Crushing Each Other to Withdraw Cash&...

Russians Are Crushing Each Other to Withdraw Cash&…

Russians Are Crushing Each Other to Withdraw Cash&…
MOSCOW — The scene at a commercial bank branch on the outskirts of Moscow has become increasingly familiar to ordinary citizens across the Russian Federation: long queues snake down the sidewalk, whispers of panic pass through the crowd, and security guards firmly lock the glass doors. Inside, bank tellers repeat a rehearsed, clinical refrain: “No deposit withdrawals right now. Cash hasn’t been delivered today. We can’t withdraw anything at all until the cash delivery arrives.”
For millions of Russians, the abstract statistics of a grinding, four-year war in Ukraine have abruptly materialized inside their wallets. As Vladimir Putin’s military campaign continues to drain the Kremlin’s treasury, a clandestine economic strategy has systematically shifted the staggering costs of the war away from state budgets and directly onto the balance sheets of commercial lenders. Now, that gamble is coming due, threatening an explosive banking crisis that could fracture the Russian economy from within.
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