With fast-weakening rouble and fears for future, Russians rush to shop
India Today
Russians are bracing for an uncertain future as the rouble lost a third of its value this week after unprecedented Western sanctions were imposed to punish Russia for invading Ukraine.
In bright sunshine, a long queue of shoppers snaked outside an IKEA store near Moscow this week. Similar scenes were repeated across Russia as families rushed to spend their fast-depreciating roubles at the Swedish retailer which is exiting the crisis-hit country.
Russians are bracing for an uncertain future of spiraling inflation, economic hardship and an even sharper squeeze on imported goods.
The rouble has lost a third of its value this week after unprecedented Western sanctions were imposed to punish Russia for invading Ukraine. The moves froze much of the central bank's $640 billion in reserves and barred several banks from global payments system SWIFT, leaving the rouble in free-fall.
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Cities across Russia were outwardly calm, with little sign of the crisis devastating financial sector and markets. Except for the lines of people looking to stock up on products mostly high-end items and hardware before shelves empty or prices climb further.
"The purchases that I planned to make in April, I urgently bought today. A friend from Voronezh also told me to buy for her," shopper Viktoriya Voloshina told Reuters in Rostov, a town 217 kilometers (135 miles) from Moscow.
Voloshina said she was looking for office shelves and tables and also shopping on behalf of a friend from another town. "My heart is breaking," she added.
