Putin’s Ugly Secret Is Exposed After Hiding in Plain Sight

Vyacheslav Prokofyev / via REUTERS Vladimir Putin’s war is biting Russians at the checkout as the war with Ukraine takes its toll, with basic food prices surging faster than inflation.

Soaring grocery costs have put mounting pressure on ordinary Russians, according to official data and supermarket prices reported by The New York Times.

A kilogram of bananas at one Moscow neighborhood store now costs 149.99 rubles ($1.78), compared with 79.90 rubles ($0.95) in August 2022, an increase of 87 percent.

According to Russia’s state statistics agency Rosstat, the average price of beef rose by 76 percent between January 2022 and July 2026, while fresh coffee jumped by 81 percent.

Butter and milk increased by almost 50 percent.

Food prices have also continued to outpace Russia’s headline inflation rate this year.

Rosstat’s minimum basket of 33 food products that it uses to compare inflation across regions—including meat, milk, cereals, eggs, fruit and vegetables— rose 8.5 percent between January and July this year, while overall inflation during the same seven-month period stood at 4.75 percent.

Some staples have increased much faster.

Sugar has risen 26 percent, while potatoes, cabbage, onions and carrots have climbed between 27 and 36 percent.

Chicken and fish have increased 11 percent and beef 10 percent.

The increases have begun changing how some Russians shop and eat.

Ekaterina, a 37-year-old marketing director interviewed by the Times, said rising prices have forced her to cut foods including salmon and berries from her diet.

“I used to have spare money left I would save for vacation or other things,” she said.

“But this January and February, this money was gone.” Andrey, a 30-year-old history and social studies teacher in the Nizhny Novgorod region, said the squeeze has been particularly acute for workers on lower salaries.