‘Cucumbers are the new gold’: Russians despair as prices soar

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As everyday essentials spiral, Russians have flooded social media to complain that they are being forced to give up taxis, manicures, cinema tickets — and cucumbers.

“Cucumbers have now become a luxury item,” a St Petersburg resident complained in a recent vlog detailing the items she has been forced to forgo as prices have risen.

“I’ll have to eat mango and dragonfruit instead of cucumbers,” another quipped, contrasting the prices of exotic imported fruits with the humble vegetables stacked high in boxes and priced at up to 500 roubles (almost £5) per kilogram.

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“What’s happening with food prices?” one young woman despaired. “What are we going to eat? Pasta and water? I don’t buy clothes or cosmetics, I don’t go to the doctor, I try not to buy any supplements or pills. All that’s left to do is give up food.”

Seasonal factors, tax changes, stubbornly high inflation caused by years of elevated defence spending have pushed supermarket prices to new highs since the start of the year.

After VAT rose from 20 per cent to 22 per cent on January 1, companies signalled that the increase would be passed on to consumers.

Price tag showing Kinder Eggs in Russia at 2199 rubles, highlighting rising living costs.

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Last year, the price of fish is thought to have increased by 22 per cent, coffee by 15 to 25 per cent, tea by 10 to 20 per cent, seasonal fruit by 15 to 20 per cent and trips on public transport by as much as 20 per cent.

“I thought that I was relatively well-off,” Nikita, a programmer who lives in Moscow, told The Times. “But there are things I used to be able to do that I can’t afford to do any more.”

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Officials have come under fire for appearing to downplay public concerns. Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman, said in January that Russians should not fear sharp price rises, while President Putin said merely that the month’s high inflation was “expected”.

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