Russians face soaring costs and tough choices this New Year

Russians face soaring costs and tough choices this New Year

MOSCOW: Walking through a freezing market in Moscow earlier this month, 60-year-old Sergei Borisovich recalled that he rang in the last New Year at a table laden with festive delicacies. This year, the factory worker, who declined to give his last name, said a spike in prices meant he would have to forego caviar and other treats so he could afford a bottle of bubbly for the countdown on Russia’s biggest holiday.

People are making sacrifices across the country, with soaring inflation pushing up costs and forcing cash-strapped Russians to make difficult decisions around the holidays. “Everything is getting more expensive but wages aren’t going up,” said Sergei Borisovich, who was shocked that a loaf of bread now costs 100 rubles ($1.35).

President Vladimir Putin has described prices as a key concern and the embattled opposition is hoping to leverage the economic woes. This month, inflation reached its highest since 2016, with rising everyday costs hitting hard a population whose average monthly income is 40,402 rubles ($545).

Adding to that, some 43 percent of Russians do not have any savings, according to a recent survey by recruitment website SuperJob. Sergei Borisovich said the table this year would be topped only with a salad