Thousands of protesters arrested in Russia as sanctions take toll
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The war in Ukraine is inspiring widespread protests inside Russia — and leading to thousands of arrests there.
More than 5,000 demonstrators have been arrested in Russia since President Vladimir Putin ordered troops to invade Ukraine last week, according to the Russian human rights media project OVD-Info.
The protests come as Russians begin to face long lines at banks, one of many signs the country's economy is plummeting under the pressure of widening sanctions from the west.
Russia's currency, the ruble, tumbled on Monday morning as Western nations continue to put crippling sanctions on the country's financial sector.
Many Russians are feeling unnerved as they worry that their usual way of life is ending, perhaps very soon, CBS News' Mary Ilyushina reported Monday from Moscow. They're also worried that they might not be able to get out of the country or even buy some foreign products.
Those concerns come despite censorship and disinformation about what's really going on in Ukraine. Russian state media have not been showing Russian forces attacking Kyiv or Kharkiv, the two largest cities in Ukraine, and still describe the invasion as a special military operation in the eastern region of Donbas, Ilyushina reports.
The only real way for Russians to find out what's happening is through social media, Ilyushina said. However, the country's internet regulator has been taking steps to slow down Twitter and Facebook, making it increasingly hard for opponents of the invasion to speak out against it.
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