Crimeans Line Up on Karl Marx Street for Ruble Lifestyle
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In Simferopol, the capital of the Crimea region annexed by Russia from Ukraine, Vyacheslav Luniov joined a crush of locals scrambling to stow their money into a Sberbank branch on Karl Marx street.
As Russia was completing the Black Sea peninsula’s absorption, Luniov, 48, opened an account at the Moscow-based bank and began switching hryvnia for rubles to safeguard his goods trading company against potential financial difficulties. Luniov said he was jolted into action when the Ukrainian bank where he has done business for years imposed withdrawal limits.