A collapsing currency, shrinking economy, and rampant inflation make a bitter combination for ordinary Russians. What makes it even more unpalatable is what’s happening at the grocery store, where meat, fruit, vegetables, and other staples are increasingly scarce and expensive. Russia’s economic woes are literally hitting its people in the stomach.
Finding new food suppliers at home and in friendlier countries abroad to replace imports lost to western sanctions and counter-sanctions has been slow. (Russia banned a wide variety of food imports from the US, EU, and elsewhere in August, after the annexation of Crimea and ongoing violence in eastern Ukraine prompted western nations to slap sanctions on Russian companies and individuals.) The resulting shortages mean that food inflation will rise above 20% in the first half of this year, according to analysts at VTB Capital, a Russian investment bank...
