shortages on the shelves of Russian supermarkets

In a supermarket in Moscow (Russia), Tuesday, March 22, the time is not for shortages, but some shelves are empty. Sugar and flour are missing. The Muscovites stock up. “I think people are freaking out and they’re taking everything they can. It’s really not a good thing”comments a customer. Three weeks after the first Western sanctions, the Russian economy is faltering. The ruble has lost a quarter of its value.

Import-based sectors are suffering. At Ivan Goncharov, wine merchant, the prices of French wine bottles have exploded. “It’s very worrying, business is really not going well”, confides the latter. Faced with difficulties, Russian entrepreneurs are trying to adapt. “In its latest forecast, the Russian Central Bank indicated that the country’s GDP could fall by at least 8% in 2022”comments Benjamin Delombre, special envoy to Moscow.