The economic pressures of EU sanctions and the war effort are trickling down to civilian life
As President Vladimir Putin continues his invasion of Ukraine, his own people are now feeling the economic effects of the war effort as Russian shoppers can be seen fighting over sugar and other essentials.
Local footage shared by Russian outlet Baza shows crowds of Russian shoppers, many of which appear to be elderly, scrapping over bags of sugar as a worker tries to fairly dish out supplies.
With likes of Instagram banned in the country and other social media channels riddled with misinformation, many Russians and Ukrainians have flocked to Telegram: an already popular platform that has now become a valuable resource for on the ground reporting.
That being said, similar videos have also been shared on Twitter, showing even more confrontational scenes as fellow shoppers snatch from trolleys and shove each other out of the way to get to their hands on essentials.
Сахарные бои в Мордоре продолжаются pic.twitter.com/hjdphblFNc
— 10 квітня (@buch10_04) March 19, 2022
As per Vice, 10kg rations have already been placed in many regions across the country and along with the global sanctions, limited imports and the government’s attempts to regulate prices, the scramble for these types of products is getting out of control.
Somewhat of a hangover from the struggles of the Soviet era, Russians often buy things like sugar in bulk but the looming presence of economic crisis has only made these habits worse.
Putin’s spokesperson Dmitry Peskov warned against the panic-buying mentality last week: “Of course, not everyone can cope with their emotions, but if you know the real information, then you understand that there is absolutely no need to run around the shops to buy toilet paper, buckwheat, sugar, and so on”.
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