{"id":242223,"date":"2025-02-19T11:28:08","date_gmt":"2025-02-19T11:28:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2025\/02\/19\/as-moscow-and-washington-discuss-ukraine-russians-hope-for-normalcy\/"},"modified":"2025-02-19T11:28:08","modified_gmt":"2025-02-19T11:28:08","slug":"as-moscow-and-washington-discuss-ukraine-russians-hope-for-normalcy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2025\/02\/19\/as-moscow-and-washington-discuss-ukraine-russians-hope-for-normalcy\/","title":{"rendered":"As Moscow and Washington Discuss Ukraine, Russians Hope for Normalcy"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align:center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2025\/02\/19\/multimedia\/19russia-react-01-hfpc\/19russia-react-01-hfpc-facebookJumbo.jpg?ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"As Moscow and Washington Discuss Ukraine, Russians Hope for Normalcy\" title=\"As Moscow and Washington Discuss Ukraine, Russians Hope for Normalcy\" \/><\/div><p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-0\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Dreams of direct flights to Miami, Los Angeles and New York by July. Hopes that Western brands will soon reopen their stores. Speculation that companies like Visa and Mastercard are on their way back to process payments.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">While none of that has yet come to pass, Russians are hoping that a return to normalcy in their country is on the horizon now that Washington and Moscow are moving to reset their relationship after three years of hostility because of <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/news-event\/ukraine-russia\" title=\"\">the war in Ukraine<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">News of the first round of <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/02\/18\/world\/europe\/us-russia-saudi-ukraine.html\" title=\"\">talks between Russia and the United States<\/a> in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday sent many Russians into a state of glee, and anticipation, that the hardships of war, and the shunning of Russia by much of the world, may soon end.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">On Tuesday, speaking on the main political news show on state television, Yuri Afonin, a Communist lawmaker, said that direct talks between Moscow and Washington were a reward for Russia\u2019s resilience over the past three years.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-1\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cRussia has proved that it can hold talks about the future of the world on par with the U.S.,\u201d Mr. Afonin said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cThis is not just about negotiating an end to the conflict,\u201d he added. \u201cIt is about a new world order.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The Kremlin has portrayed the end of the war in terms of a grand deal that should cement its hold over at least parts of Ukraine. But many Russians see it as a return to a time when people did not have to worry that their children would get drafted to fight or fear being detained for antiwar posts on social media. And they are expressing hope that an end to the war will also bring an end to sanctions that have battered the economy.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-2\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\"><a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/01\/23\/world\/europe\/ukraine-russia-soldiers-loss.html\" title=\"\">According to estimates<\/a> by groups tracking war deaths, more than 150,000 Russian soldiers have been killed and many more wounded in a conflict that has ground on for three years. Hundreds of thousands of people <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2022\/09\/27\/world\/europe\/russia-ukraine-war-referendums.html\" title=\"\">fled the country<\/a> fearing a forced mobilization or crackdowns on those opposing the invasion or expressing other forms of dissent.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-3\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">On the home front, Russians have had to cope with shortages of commodities, and soaring prices and interest rates.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">On social media, some whose relatives and friends have been devastated by the war are still preoccupied with familiar questions: How can they get loved ones away from the front lines? Can they get benefits for partners who have been killed in the fighting?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-4\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">For many Russians, Washington\u2019s sudden about-face toward their country appears to have led to a surge of admiration for and interest in President Trump.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">In Moscow, sales of Mr. Trump\u2019s books and books about geopolitics have soared since January, one of the leading bookstore chains told Kommersant, a Russian business daily. A leading Russian publisher said that it had <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.kommersant.ru\/doc\/7515082?ysclid=m7agin15ci386703115\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">run out of copies<\/a> of \u201cTrump: The Art of The Deal\u201d and that sales of \u201cThink Like a Champion,\u201d another book by Mr. Trump, had increased threefold.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-5\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">So far, reports about <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/KYevgeni\/status\/1890019210660868104\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">brands and direct flights<\/a> to the U.S. returning to Russia have been purely speculative. There are no plans yet to restore direct flights between Moscow and American cities, and no Western brands have officially announced their return to Russia.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Still, rumors that they would be back \u2014 speculation that was amplified by state media as signals that Russia had prevailed in the conflict with the West \u2014 were indicative of the overall mood.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Anatoly Aksakov, a Russian lawmaker in the lower house of Parliament, <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/t.me\/youlistenedmayak\/35413\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">expressed confidence<\/a> that the likes of Visa and Mastercard would want to re-enter the country\u2019s market.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cObviously, they want to return to the Russian market faster, so that they can make money on it,\u201d Mr. Aksakov said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">And since a phone call between President Trump and President Vladimir V. Putin last week, state television has been trumpeting what it portrays as Russia\u2019s restored stature on the global stage.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-6\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Dmitri Kiselyov, host of Vesti Nedeli, the flagship Sunday news show on Russian state television, <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/vesti7.ru\/article\/4361751\/episode\/16-02-2025\/\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">said the call<\/a> between the two presidents was \u201ca political earthquake, or more precisely, a devastating tsunami for America\u2019s European allies.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-7\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">He added, \u201cThe White House struck them in the heart by declaring the system of current European values false and even harmful.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Others were more cautious.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Artyom Sheynin, the host of a political talk show on Channel One, started his broadcast on Tuesday by examining a picture of Russian and American officials meeting in Riyadh, the Saudi capital.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cEveryone sat nearly impenetrably stone-faced,\u201d Mr. Sheynin said. \u201cThis indicates symbolically where our attempt to turn the clock back starts from,\u201d he added. \u201cWe are doing it without any 100 percent guarantee that we will be able to succeed.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-8\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Some conservatives, whose nationalist views have become highly influential in Russia over the course of the war, have also expressed skepticism that the talks will produce quick results. They have even suggested that the negotiations could undermine their country\u2019s self-reliance.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Zakhar Prilepin, a popular conservative writer, warned in a post on Tuesday that the return of Western brands could also hurt Russian companies that have been stepping up production in response to the sanctions and shortages of Western goods.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-798hid etfikam0\">Nataliya Vasilyeva<!-- --> and <!-- -->Alina Lobzina<!-- --> contributed reporting.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/02\/19\/world\/europe\/russia-ukraine-trump-talks.html\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Dreams of direct flights to Miami, Los Angeles and New York by July. Hopes that Western brands will soon reopen their stores. Speculation that companies like Visa and Mastercard are on their way back to process payments. While none of that has yet come to pass, Russians are hoping that a return to normalcy in [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":242224,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2025\/02\/19\/multimedia\/19russia-react-01-hfpc\/19russia-react-01-hfpc-facebookJumbo.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[4287,163575,163203,5066,3098,54309,209,202,2322,52,1130,128437,128440,5179],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/242223"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=242223"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/242223\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":242225,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/242223\/revisions\/242225"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/242224"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=242223"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=242223"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=242223"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}