Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine and after the many sanctions against Russia, the lives of Russians have become increasingly expensive. Inflation in the country rose to nearly 18 percent year-on-year in April, according to the Russian Federal Statistical Office. This means that prices have risen the fastest since the beginning of 2002.
Unlike in the Netherlands, for example, it is not mainly energy, food and fuel that are becoming considerably more expensive, but more has to be paid for consumer products across the board. The so-called core inflation, which does not include petrol and diesel, for example, rose even faster and amounted to more than 20 percent.
Month by month, the shock is just not as great as it was in March. In that first full month after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the overall price level shot up nearly 8 percent from February. In April, prices subsequently rose by just under 2 percent compared to the March level.
The Russian economy has been hit hard by the many Western sanctions. The punitive measures and choice of many Western companies to turn their backs on Russia have already led to much less import and export of goods in Russia. Russian households also buy less and have started to save more in uncertain times.
Earlier this week, the Russian central bank said it expected a contraction between 8 and 10 percent for the whole of this year. Inflation is expected to be somewhere between 18 and 23 percent. Last month, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecast that the Russian economy will shrink 8.5 percent this year.
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