Miscellaneous observations on the Russian home front

I open with a few words on the state of the Russian economy at the ground level.

Official Russian government spokesmen tell us that while the economy is experiencing very low growth of 1 per cent or less, still it is positive and they say that this modest result is due to the ongoing re-profiling of the economy.

What they mean is redirection of the economy from consumer to war economy. What this means in practice was very quietly explained by the RF Agriculture Ministry in the past week when it announced that sales of fresh cucumbers and tomatoes have declined significantly as the broad population is buying more potatoes and cabbage instead. Nice little fact that tells you how ordinary people are trying to get by in times of inflation that officially hovers at 10 percent.

On my own street in Pushkin, I just noticed that the large and seemingly thriving discount store that provided savvy consumers at the bottom of the pecking order with major brand prepared foods, household gadgets, shampoos and beauty aids at steep discounts has now vacated its premises. One can guess that its clientele have had to tighten their belts still further.

I note that middle class supermarkets near me are putting on the rows of juices at eye level what are in effect ‘drinks’ or ‘nectars,’ meaning juice heavily diluted with water, supplemented by added sugar. You know they are ‘nectar’ if you study the label at all ends and read the tiny script, whereas the big letters tell you ‘real orange taste’ etc. They cost half or less what 100 percent juice sells for and presumably the moms who can’t afford real juices that are on the lowest shelves buy this.

Of course, the supermarkets around me serving the upper middle class remain well stocked and do not have to be deceptive to make a sale. It is the little guys who always feel the pain first.

*****

When the authorities here in Petersburg are not totally shutting down the mobile internet or disrupting the GPS service that guides the taxi drivers around the city, I find that the Yandex Go monopoly of taxi services does work rather well here, with density of the taxi fleet and response time to demands for service on the App measured in several minutes. This rivals what I saw in Moscow last November.

The great majority of taxis are Chinese imports produced by Geely, Haval as well as by other less well known brands. They are all traditional internal combustion models. No Electric Vehicles in Russia presently and no recharging infrastructure whatsoever in Petersburg.

I have asked the drivers about their satisfaction level with these cars and the response today is more positive than it was a year ago, when they were uncertain how service and spare parts would be provided by the manufacturers. Prices of the vehicles seem to be roughly from 26,000 to 35,000 euros, which I imagine is substantially less than what European equivalent models would cost in Belgium.

Of course, the fleets may well change over to Russian brands now that the legislation has been put in place to promote use of domestic vehicles for taxi services and to prohibit many imports. We shall see how this evolves in the coming months.

I have mentioned the introduction of vouchers to buy rationed petrol in the Crimea. So far no restrictions at all exist here in Petersburg and there are absolutely no lines at the gas stations.

©Gilbert Doctorow, 2026