Domestic credit and debit transactions in the Russian Federation have been largely unaffected by Western sanctions and the voluntary withdrawal of card companies from the country, due to an alternative system for managing domestic payments that was developed in the late 2010s. In the aftermath of President Vladimir Putin’s 2014 annexation of Crimea and the subsequent backlash from the Western bloc, Russia began the development of an alternative payments system that could insulate the country’s economy from Western sanctions. This system, called Mir, runs on the infrastructure of the National Payment Card System (NSPK, an acronym derived from the system’s Russian name), and it has allowed ordinary Russians to continue using their cards even as the companies behind said cards have officially cut ties with their country. Now the country is reaping the benefits of its preparation for the worst, as Western sanctions have taken their due toll on the nation’s …