Jul 13, 2022
It’s hard to say. I’ve read reports that tourism has gone up because more Russians access the area.
But you are probably right in your assessment that the money has directly been directed toward the pockets of Russia’s kleptocrats.
All of these are hypothetical in the end because we don’t have entirely accurate measurements since the Kremlin doesn’t keep public records of its funds.
If anyone was meant to benefit prior to the full-scale invasion, it was the pro-Russian Crimeans. But the extent of that is up for debate.