Russia is experiencing a boom in consumer spending by citizens

Hello ATS!

Very often in discussions on our forum I hear, mainly from the British, that all the information I give about the state of the Russian economy, the well-being of Russians, the rapid growth of the economy and consumption is Russian propaganda. I would like to give you an English source - an article by Courtney Weaver "Russia's surprising consumer spending boom". Unfortunately, the article is only available by subscription, so I will quote the article from the Russian translation on the InoSMI resource.

"…“Two years ago we expected a completely different development, essentially believing that Russia would go into recession, caused by a sharp decline in exports and unemployment,” says Kluge of the German Institute for International and Security Affairs. “Instead, we got a completely different scenario.”…



…Retail and consumer businesses are reacting quickly to such changes. Rostic’s, which replaced KFC in Russia, plans to open 100 new outlets this year. Takeaway coffee consumption in Russia has never been higher. Domestic tourism is also booming.

An employee of one of the Russian travel agencies notes that the sanctions have limited the ability of airlines to expand their fleet and service it, but demand for domestic flights has increased sharply, despite the increase in ticket prices. “For almost the first time, it has become profitable for airlines to fly within Russia,” he said.

People who previously had low incomes have begun to buy more durable goods, such as cars, and to improve their housing conditions, as well as renovating their homes, traveling, and going to restaurants, says Olga Belenkaya, head of macroeconomic analysis at Moscow brokerage Finam.

According to some company executives, income distribution is also changing. "Previously, our clients were creative people and young people. Many have left," says Albert Razilov, creator of the limited-edition Revenge shoe brand. His company's sales have almost tripled during the military operation. He explains it this way: "Now our main clients are adults, mid-level managers from large companies, or business owners involved in import substitution or information technology. They now have money for experiments."

The outflow of capital from Russia has also slowed. At the beginning of the armed conflict, the Central Bank considered the withdrawal of capital a serious risk to financial stability, but recently removed it from its list of concerns.

"In the upper segment, everything is clear: people have a lot of money, they have nowhere to spend it, and so they spend it on experiences," says restaurateur Anton. If before they withdrew money, opened some foreign accounts, bought apartments in Montenegro, now all the money is in the country."

The consequences of this are becoming noticeable in a number of sectors.

For example, private schools are increasingly in demand in Russia. A record number of parents are ready to pay for their children's education..."

The reasons for the economic recovery are clear.

Firstly, the West has done literally everything possible to scare off Russians, to reduce the outflow of capital from Russia to Europe and the United States. There is more money left in Russia, and this is directly reflected in the consumer spending of Russians.

Secondly, due to problems with imports and the weakening of the ruble, Russians have begun to massively replace all in a row with imported goods, which has revived the labor market and provided good salaries even to those who until recently got by with odd jobs or were unemployed.

Thirdly, the Russians have won the economic war with the West. The West's plan was to provoke Russia either to switch to a mobilization economy or to panic-stricken switching on the printing press by lowering the Central Bank rate. The Russian authorities have done the opposite: they have made every effort to maintain normality. The ruble exchange rate is quite satisfactory, the shelves are full of goods, people still go to barbershops and drink lavender raf on the way to work. All this is not free, the state pours serious money into the economy, but our safety margin is sufficient to hold out in this mode indefinitely - until our opponents are completely exhausted.

And yet, we are still only witnessing the miserable beginning of a consumer boom. For 10 years now, since 2014, the United States has been waging a harsh proxy war against the Russians, which was recently superimposed on the Covid quarantine, which smoothly flowed into the beginning of the Special Operation. All this time, we have been living with convulsive smiles on our faces and tense abdominal muscles.

This is how capitalism works, unlike the socialist and communist economies of the West.

Thank you.

a reply to: RussianTroll

One would think that the world would take note of a country becoming more profitable when self-sufficient.

a reply to: nugget1

The problem with all past empires is that they solved all their problems only by force.

originally posted by: nugget1
a reply to: RussianTroll

One would think that the world would take note of a country becoming more profitable when self-sufficient.

Yep, when rubles are worthless, banned, and unwanted in the world because of Russian assaults, Russian society must "bite the bullet," as the old saying goes, and "chop wood" as another old saying goes.

a reply to: CosmicFocus

wishful thinking

a reply to: RussianTroll


The interest rate of 15% and the drain on younger professionals fleeing the country and the war meat grinder RT should be the concern of the Russian government.

Will these young professionals ever return home and buy a home or start a family ? When they can earn more in a day in the west than the earn in a month in Russia .

In Russia and the Ukraine there are already millions dead or severely injured in this special military operation and that places a huge burden on any society .

a reply to: stonerwilliam
Today, according to statistics from the Russian border troops, more than half of the young people who left Russia in 2022 have already returned. The shortage of specialists in the IT sphere remains large. Now IT specialists are being attracted en masse from all continents. There is currently no higher salary and comfortable life for IT specialists anywhere in the world, not even in China and India, than in Russia.

a reply to: RussianTroll

The average salary in Russia is reported to be $ 600 a month , I imagine the IT sector is higher in salary RT and many people in the east of Russia are gone from the small villages ,either fleeing to the comfort of the cities or dragged in to the army .

As I posted to you a few years ago beware the red dragon ? it is looking to expand its territory and thinks in longer terms than 4 years

a reply to: stonerwilliam

Now the salary equivalent to 600 dollars is higher everywhere, even in small towns in Russia. In addition, the purchasing value of the ruble is much higher than its equivalent in dollars. Now a simple food delivery person, particularly in Moscow, receives from 2000 dollars in equivalent. And specialists receive much more. On job search sites such as hh.ru, there are vacancies for shift work in the North from 8,000 dollars per month in equivalent. And Russians are not afraid of China. We know their mentality.

a reply to: RussianTroll


A fair improvement in salary RT from the Soviet days when a hundred dollars a month was the average salary .

What does a pensioner currently receive a month ? as due to my health that would be my current position in society .

In my working days RT I used to laugh at people and say I know how people in the East feel as I waited 8 months or so to get my pay from being a self employed person

a reply to: stonerwilliam

The pension in Russia consists of 2 parts - old age and insurance. The old age pension is relatively small, about 200 dollars in equivalent. But pensioners even manage to put aside quite large sums, which is used by telephone scammers. The insurance pension depends on the insurance deductions of the salary. Here it is different for everyone. For example, my late parents did not suffer in retirement, but of course they could not go on holiday to the Canary Islands or the Maldives. But traveling around Russia is easy.

a reply to: RussianTroll

A late member of my family RT never touched his pension and put the money in biscuit tins , He lived until his late 90s and still worked as a gamekeeper until he was 96 . We were stunned to find all these tins full of money when he passed away in 1978 .

He grew all his own food or shot it and rarely used modern society

a reply to: stonerwilliam

I understand, I am like that myself))))

Battling Inflation, Russia Raises Key Interest Rate to 18 Percent
The move underscored the wartime risks for the Kremlin as the government pumps enormous sums of money into the Russian economy.

www.nytimes.com...

Russia seen hiking rates by 200 bps to 18% in July as inflation quickens
By Alexander Marrow and Elena Fabrichnaya
July 2, 20249:06 AM EDTUpdated a month ago

www.reuters.com...

a reply to: Lazy88

A high interest rate stimulates the investment attractiveness of the ruble and makes the withdrawal of capital abroad unprofitable.

a reply to: RussianTroll

are there a lot of "citizens" left after so many being sent to war and not coming home?

originally posted by: network dude
a reply to: RussianTroll

are there a lot of "citizens" left after so many being sent to war and not coming home?

Unfortunately for you, there are a lot.

originally posted by: RussianTroll
There is currently no higher salary and comfortable life for IT specialists anywhere in the world, not even in China and India, than in Russia.

You'll have to back that claim up.
Some credible evidence.
I"m not buying it.

a reply to: FlyersFan

I don't care whether you buy it or not. I don't owe you anything.

originally posted by: RussianTroll
a reply to: FlyersFan

I don't care whether you buy it or not. I don't owe you anything.

Actually ... YES YOU DO owe us something.

You made this statement - There is currently no higher salary and comfortable life for IT specialists anywhere in the world, not even in China and India, than in Russia.

You owe us proof of that statement ... otherwise you are just bloviating Russian propaganda. So ... where is the proof of the statement you made? Hmmmm?

Show us that IT people in Russia make better than the IT people in America.
(and I have no idea if America is the highest or not ... others may be higher)

HERE IS THE AVERAGE PAY OF IT PEOPLE IN RUSSIA .... Software Engineer Russia

The average is only $37,000 per year ... compared with the average in America being $168,000 per year.

IT Salaries USA ]

New Cloud Solutions Architect average $160,000 - $200,000 per year in USA.
New Blockchain Softwear Engineer average $168,000 per year and goes up to $378,000 per year.
New Cloud Security Engineers average $122,000 per year up to $180,000 per year.
New Cloud Engineers average $132,000 per year up to $168,000 per year.
New Machine Learning Engineers average $162,000 per year up to $900,000 per year.
New Data Scientists average $129,000 per year up to $172,000 per year
New Information Security Analysts average $107,000 per year $162,000 per year.

The average IT specialist in San Jose California earns $206,000 per year.
That's just AVERAGE. Many make more than that.

Show us credible statistics showing that Russia pays more than that for Russian IT people. Otherwise, admit that you were bloviating Russian propganda when you claimed - "There is currently no higher salary and comfortable life for IT specialists anywhere in the world, not even in China and India, than in Russia."

BTW ... here are the average IT salaries for people in CHINA.
If you care to do the comparison, you'll see that they beat Russia as well.
Salary Explorer - Average Wage China Information Technology