Putin warned he will soon have to end war in Ukraine to save Russian economy | World | News
Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine is continuing with unrelenting intensity, resulting in far-reaching consequences for civilians, particularly regarding the economy.
As New Year approaches, a once-joyous occasion now seems more like a grim countdown in Russia.
Mark Galeotti, a leading Russia expert, has warned that if the Russia-Ukraine war continues into 2025, Putin will have to start making some “serious choices”.
“Putin is getting closer to the point where he will have to make serious choices between guns and butter, if the war drags on through 2025, or if he faces some unexpected new call on his resources,” Galeotti wrote in a column for The Spectator.
“Ordinary Russians may not be following the macro-economics, but the spate of articles in the media on how to host New Year’s Eve on a budget, as well as a run on cheaper varieties of champagne, suggests that they are feeling it.”
Ordinary Russians are now tightening their belts amid heightening inflation and a plunging currency, while the Kremlin debates the possibility of introducing food cards for the poor.
Meanwhile, the Central Bank is scrambling to stabilise the economy through hiking interest rates and foreign currency interventions. Before Christmas, interest rates were at risk of rising again, which were already set at a two-decade high.
Moscow’s mayor, Sergei Sobyanin, has already confirmed that fireworks will be canceled again this year due to the ongoing war with Ukraine.
But now, residents in the capital are beginning to panic about affording the traditional New Year’s Eve feast – including Olivier salad and caviar – The Moscow Times reported.
Domestically produced food prices have also surged, fueled by inflation, with supply chains disrupted, not to mention the debilitating effects of sanctions on production.
Rusprodsoyuz, the Russian food union, has estimated that the basic cost of the Novogodniy stol (New Year’s table) has risen this year by 11.4% to 12,000 rubles (£90.28).
The cost of key ingredients for the iconic Olivier Salad – potatoes, vegetable, eggs and meat – have risen by over 30%, while potatoes have spiked by a staggering 65%.
According to RIA Novosti, citing Rosstat data, four servings of this holiday staple will now cost 553 rubles (£4.16) — an 8.5% jump in the Olivier Index.
Many Russian bankers and industrialists now worry that the economy could be heading into a tailspin like 2008, when a credit crisis led to waves of bankruptcies.
Even Kremlin loyalists like Sberbank CEO Herman Gref are publicly admitting that the economy is tanking. Speaking at an investor forum on December 6, Gref acknowledged “significant signs of an economic slowdown” especially in housing, construction, and investment.
“The situation is difficult,” said Gref, a former economy minister who heads a bank controlling half of the nation’s deposits and a third of its lending. “A number of borrowers will be in a difficult situation and banks will be in a difficult situation.”
“Polite words fail me, of course” a 72-year-old history teacher who lives in St. Petersburg – who tries to get by on a 19,100-ruble (£144) monthly pension – told RFE/RL’s Russian Service earlier this month.
“I have to joke about it to cool down my anger,” she added, asking for her name not to be used to avoid police harassment.
