After an hour and a half queuing for sugar, or worse still fighting for it in a market, Russians are feeling the effect of shortages caused by an unprecedented cutoff from the world
Highlights
- Bags of sugar and buckwheat began disappearing from local markets a week after Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine.
- The shortages revived fears that the Kremlin’s invasion in Ukraine will lead to a virtual slide back to the shortages or endless queues of the Soviet Union.
- The government has blamed panic buying and speculators, saying it has more than enough supply to satisfy demand.
- As Russia’s economy contracts, inflation is expected to skyrocket as high as 20% this year, said economist Elina Ribakova.
- ‘I think we are steadily going back to a USSR,” said the Institute of International Finance, indicating that the Russian government would likely continue to close off from the world economy.