As Sanctions Pile Up, Russians' Alarm Grows Over Putin's Tactics

Russians Increasingly Alarmed About Putin's Tactics
Russia's President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting in his Novo-Ogaryovo residence outside Moscow, on July 24, 2014. Putin is staring down fresh European sanctions just a week after the last round was unveiled over Moscow's role in the Ukraine crisis, which has seen East-West tensions spike to their highest point in years. AFP PHOTO / RIA-NOVOSTI / POOL/ MIKHAIL KLIMENTYEV (Photo credit should read MIKHAIL KLIMENTYEV/AFP/Getty Images)
Russia's President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting in his Novo-Ogaryovo residence outside Moscow, on July 24, 2014. Putin is staring down fresh European sanctions just a week after the last round was unveiled over Moscow's role in the Ukraine crisis, which has seen East-West tensions spike to their highest point in years. AFP PHOTO / RIA-NOVOSTI / POOL/ MIKHAIL KLIMENTYEV (Photo credit should read MIKHAIL KLIMENTYEV/AFP/Getty Images)

MOSCOW — Russia, facing the toughest round of Western sanctions imposed since the Ukraine crisis erupted, has adopted a nonchalant public stance, with President Vladimir V. Putin emphasizing the importance of self-reliance and a new poll released Tuesday indicating a “What, me worry?” attitude among the bulk of the population.

But beneath that calm facade, there is growing alarm in Russia that the festering turmoil in Ukraine and the new round of far more punitive sanctions — announced Tuesday by both European nations and the United States — will have an impact on Russia’s relations with the West for years to come and damage the economy to the extent that ordinary Russians feel it.

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