Published on 02/12/2024 19:49
Reading time: 1min – video: 2min
War in Ukraine: food, housing… In Russia, life is becoming unaffordable
War in Ukraine: food, housing… In Russia, life is becoming unaffordable
(France 2)
Hit hard by record inflation, Russia is suffering the effects of international sanctions and the cost of the war waged in Ukraine for almost three years. The prices lead to an increase in shoplifting.
In Russia, butter thefts have increased in recent weeks. The plates are so valuable that they are placed under anti-theft devices in certain businesses. Symbol of the high food inflation affecting Russia, butter is one of the products which has increased the most, with +30% in one year.
For a 200 gram wafer in a store, it costs 2.50 euros, in a country where the average salary is 750 euros. Worse still, potatoes have increased by 65% since last year. “Of course everything is more expensive: gasoline, food, electronics”notes a Russian interviewed by our teams. In total, inflation stands at 8.5% over one year.
With massive recruitment in the army and the arms industry, the war effort overheated the economy. To this must be added international sanctions, which are driving up imported products. Same observation for real estate: interest rates are at their highest, with 28.1% for a real estate loan. Russian authorities are talking about possible price controls on certain basic products. In this context of war, the Kremlin cannot afford to allow social discontent to rise.
Watch the full report in the video above.
