(NewsNation) — Russian police detained more than 5,000 antiwar protesters in a single day last weekend, according to a Russian human rights monitoring group.

In Russia, civilians are not allowed to speak freely about the war online, or out loud, without fear of arrest — they cannot even call it a war. Russian President Vladimir Putin maintains that the invasion of Ukraine is strictly a “special operation.”

On top of that, some Russians say they are starting to feel the sting from Western economic sanctions.

“Life has been ruined dramatically. It is impossible to make any plans. Our savings are lost, we cannot use them. It’s scary even to enter the shops,” one man on the streets of Moscow said.

Others are struggling to find work and don’t see a future in the country.

“I have to search for a job, three or four working shifts. … My future? To relocate to another country, to be honest,” said another Moscow man.

As the Biden administration and Western allies continue to pile on sanctions, many of the world’s largest companies have gone a step further, suspending business operations in the country.

On Tuesday, McDonald’s joined a growing list of companies taking action against Russia, announcing it would be closing all 850 of its stores in the country.

As the list of sanctions continues to grow, some of those who used to call Russia home are relieved they are no longer there.

“If you dare to say anything that is counter, it disagrees with the main line of the Kremlin, at that point you could go to jail, you could get beaten,” said Ivan Chernoskutov, who was born in Russia but now lives with his wife in Indiana.

Although he was able to leave, Chernoskutov still fears for his family back home and said he has to be careful when communicating with them because messenger apps are tracked by the Russian government.

All the arrests so far have Chernoskutov concerned there could be further crackdowns on civil liberties in his home country. Combine that with a plummeting economy and Russia could see a mass exodus of its future workforce, Chernoskutov warned.

“Putin is destroying the future. … When you have people who are very well educated, who are very capable, very skilled, trying to, or even thinking about leaving the country … that is destroying the future, in effect,” said Chernoskutov.

But not all Russians agree. Some say they are not as concerned, with one man telling a reporter, “It’s not a big deal. We’ve gotten through worse. We’ll get through this also.”

Whatever the outcome, Chernoskutov hopes the conflict does not result in sweeping generalizations about his home country. “Not all Russians are the same, just like not all the people are the same anywhere. There’s different mentalities, there’s different thinking in the United States.”