Russia: some signs that may indicate an economic deterioration

A sidewalk cafe in Moscow's Red Square, where city workers in the Russian capital set up decorations for the Victory Day celebrations in late April 2022 (illustration photo).

AP - Alexander Zemlianichenko

Text by: Anissa El Jabri Follow

1 min

More than ten months of "special operation" in Ukraine, and a little less since the arrival of Western sanctions.

In Russia, it is difficult to see clearly the economic consequences.

Reading the GDP or unemployment figures, little has changed.

But according to the economic media

The Bell

, among others, several daily signs point to a deterioration.

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From our correspondent in Moscow,

Russians are saving money on leisure and restaurants are paying a high price, especially since the fall: more than 25% closures since September, according to the

Kommersant

newspaper .

Those that remain open look gray.

The addition in bars and restaurants itself fell by more than a quarter, the November figure.

Only establishments in the luxury category, and especially in the capital, suffered very little.

As a result, we eat at home.

In 2022, sales of instant noodle packets increased by more than 6%, when the unemployment rate in the hotel and restaurant sector exploded: +47%, a record 269,000 people for part-time employment .

There too, explosion for the period July-September 2022. We return to the level of 2010. It would be, say the economists, an employer-employee compromise so as not to lay off.

A phenomenon characteristic of periods of crisis in Russia.

Declining incomes, and yet, for the first time, a reversal of a trend that we thought would be long term, the drop in alcohol consumption during the first eleven months of 2022. The Russians started to toast again, especially strong drinks: +6% notably for vodka sales.

►Listen again: How do sanctions affect Russia?

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