Prices in March – the first full month since Moscow launched its military campaign in Ukraine in late February – rose 7.5% from the previous month, according to Rosstat. Russia’s central bank is targeting 4% inflation, but as the economy has been hit by unprecedented Western sanctions, the latest figure is more than quadrupling from year to year. Renaissance Capital analysts predict that inflation will peak at 24% this summer. Inflation in food prices, a huge concern for low-income Russians, reached 19.5% year-on-year, according to Rosstat. Pasta has increased by 25%, butter by 22%, sugar by 70% and fruits and vegetables by 35%. Other items that have skyrocketed are building materials (32% increase) and household electronics (40% increase). Inflation has been accelerating for months due to factors such as the recovery from the pandemic and high commodity prices. President Vladimir Putin’s decision to send troops to Ukraine added to the sanctions and the ensuing logistical difficulties. This undermines the purchasing power of the Russians and is a major headache for the Russian authorities, whose measures to try to control prices have had the opposite effect on items such as sugar. At a market in the second largest city of St. Petersburg in the northwest, shoppers this week said they felt the sting. “It happened out of politics, it seems. I do not understand that, to be honest,” said Olesya Ogiyeva, 42, a factory worker. Leonid Kabalin, a 40-year-old production operator, said he was not ready for soaring inflation. “Prices have gone up, but payments are not going up,” he said. However, a retired buyer, 58-year-old Yulia Ryabinina, was philosophical about raising prices. “Because the top management and our president believe that there should be price increases, I accepted it calmly. What else can you do?”
