comment: >
  
  I’ve visited and I am aware of how much is made and used for internal consumption, but there was an intrinsic component of their culture that was a representation of freedom. How westernised their malls were and how many name brands they used on their daily lives. 
  It is baffling to me how this changed within months.
context: I mean, their leadership keeps saying the world outside of the Russian Federation is collapsing, they don't need anyone, and are ready to nuclear bomb the planet to ashes.
  So which one is it? >
  
  This is so confusing to me. With all major brands fleeing the country, how can they justify their own continued success? How does the general population perceive that? >
  
  They've gone through that "self sufficient" bullshit before, in USSR times, conveniently forgetting that NOT everything behind the Iron Curtain was Russia.
  A conglomerate of states trading between themselves and to a limited extent with Africa and the Middle East can't be compared to what is happening now, but hey, reliving the glorious past...