Between the fourth quarter of 2021 and the first quarter of 2022, the number of Russians classified by the Russian government as poor rose by 8.5 million, according to Russian government statistics, Maksim Blant of Radio Liberty reports (svoboda.org/a/armiya-bednyh-kak-voyna-vliyaet-na-urovenj-zhizni-rossiyan/31895963.html).
Russian analysts point to the fact that in the fourth quarter, many Russians receive bonuses which meant that incomes then were higher than they would otherwise be, a factor that explains part of this rise. Others point to inflation, the result both of a decline in imports as a result of sanctions and the absence of domestically produced goods.
But there is a larger factor which seldom gets much attention. The decline in the standard of living in Russia is “not only connected with international sanctions but with the war itself.” For the Russian economy to produce substitutes or more of what it was already…
