By Linda Stamato
In the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, people are supporting programs to aid refugees and providing funds for war and relief efforts, to show solidarity with the people of Ukraine and its leadership.
They are crossing party lines to applaud the turn away from Russia and its oligarchs, thugs, and their pariah leader, Vladimir Putin, who dreams of “Mother Russia,” an immoral and, in a modern world, impossible, re-creation of the past.
Putin’s dream has become a nightmare for the nation of Ukraine, and beyond. The peace that Europe has known for much of the last seven decades has ended. The reaction around the world, and here at home, to isolate Russia, limit its access to markets and finance, and hurt its future prospects, has enormous support. People are looking to do anything and everything they can to help.
Yet some well meaning boycotts focusing on local franchises with apparent Russian connections may have unintended consequences.
In fact, they are missing the intended target and instead are hurting Americans, local people who bought franchises in the days when the U.S. and Europe were trying to move toward a world in which global trade would make war increasingly unlikely.
Those connections, in short, have failed to keep the peace. Economic ties have not prevented aggression. The world is waking up to that reality.
But does that mean we turn against local businesses?
Several days ago, I noticed a post on NextDoor that called for a boycott of local Lukoil gas stations. As I responded then, we should keep in mind that Lukoil stations are owned and operated by our neighbors.
They have kids in the schools, where our kids join them. They shop in the same stores, and attend the same churches. They are no more “instruments” of Putin than you or I am.
Let us hope that they can transition to other suppliers. But in the meantime, boycotting Lukoil stations can only give a misplaced sense of satisfaction. And it could do great harm to those who have no say in what Putin and his thugs are doing in Ukraine.
We have millions of immigrants from Russia in America. Calls to boycott Lukoil remind me of the fear our local Afghan restaurateurs had in the wake of 9/11. Many Morristown residents continued dining there to show their support as the owners placed American flags in their windows and hoped for understanding. They received it.
We should do the same for the Lukoil station owners.
As of Tuesday morning there were 34 reactions to that posting. Some supported the boycott, believing that doing so would cut off funds for Russian owners (and cut Putin’s take as well).
Most of the other comments, though, asked for more information about the oil and gas supplies, recognizing that major companies were shutting American markets to Russian companies even as President Biden contemplated banning Russian energy imports — as he did later on Tuesday.
(The United States imports about 700,000 barrels of oil — less than 10 percent of its total oil imports–from Russia, according to the New York Times.)
Commenters to the neighborhood posting recognize local owners and want to support them, seeing them caught, essentially, between a rock and a hard place. Indeed, boycott or no, Lukoil stations now may find themselves without access to the gasoline they sell.
We do not need to make matters worse for them.
Suggesting that Lukoil station owners are complicit with Putin reminds me of how some people have connected COVID-19 with citizens of Asian descent, leading to unprovoked attacks on them on the streets of American cities.
Similar “connections’” were made in World War II, when people with German surnames were attacked on our streets, and Japanese-Americans were placed in internment camps.
Mounting evidence is disturbing. In New York City, the Russian Samovar, a third-generation restaurant owned by Misha Von Shats, told the Times that his business fell more than 50 percent in the first few days after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. His is but one of many New York City business owners grappling with the impact of the invasion.
Look beyond the surface, and you’ll find that Samovar’s Russian and Ukrainian workers are united in their opposition to the war and they want to help.
“We have many Ukrainians that work for us. We need business in order for them to make money, for them to support and send money out there,” Mr. Von Shats told the newspaper.
As American companies abandon Russian markets, the impact will be appreciable. Without question, hurting Russia to sway its citizens to press Putin to end the war is essential.
But small businesses here in America, franchises, and wholly-owned stores, restaurants and service-providers should be viewed differently.
These owners are our neighbors and friends. They believed in a global economy and created markets. They should not be sacrificed to signal our condemnation of the country that produces the products they sell.
Linda Stamato is the Co-Director of the Center for Negotiation and Conflict Resolution at the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University in New Brunswick. She is a Faculty Fellow there as well. Active in the Morristown community, she serves on the trustee board of the Morristown and Morris Township Library Foundation and is a commissioner on the Morristown Parking Authority.
Opinions expressed in commentaries are the authors’, and do not necessarily reflect those of this publication.
Hey Lin, where were you when MLB moved the All-Star game from Atlanta (a majority African American population) to Denver (with a 10% African American population)? Remember that one?
Unfortunately the comparison with the local Afghan restaurant isn’t a completely accurate comparison. True, the stations are likely owned by local people and local people will be hurt by a boycot. But, it is also true that a portion of the Lukoil sales does flow to Russia as Lukoil is a Russian company. That is how a franchise agreement works. Lukoil gets paid for the use of their name, advertising and other services that are provided to the franchisee. Putin attended the opening of the first Lukoil station in NYC in 2003. I am not recommending boycotting or not boycotting. Just stating facts.
Prof. Linda Stamato, with her usual trademark clarity, makes a point one would like to see in the windows of every American- or immigrant-owned, -leased or -operated business that carries Russian products. Sal Risalvato, Executive Director of the New Jersey Gasoline, C-Store, Automotive Association (NJGCA), a nonprofit trade association representing motor fuel retailers and associated small businesses in NJ, made the same point several days ago in an email titled “Setting the Record Straight about Lukoil Gas Stations.” Perhaps a lesson could be taken from the way an equally uninformed boycott was handled by the Morristown restaurant specializing in Afghan cuisine after 9-11. They put a large American flag in the window, which attracted the attention of local news outlets. In time, the point was made and diners returned — including new diners previously unfamiliar with the restaurant, who were eager to support a business that had been a target of an unfair boycott.
As the daughter of German Immigrants during ww II, my heart goes out to those innocent immigrants, also victims of Putin, being punished for actions that had nothing to do with them.