The effect of the sanctions is still not very concretely seen in Russia, but the clouds on the Russian economy are already accumulating. Household debt reached an all-time high in the first quarter of this year, at 10.6% of the population’s disposable income, compared to 10.2% in the same period in 2021. Consumer credit defaults also increased slightly in the spring.
With our correspondent in Moscow, Anissa El Jabri
500,000, 800,000 rubles, or up to 20 times the average salary, is the price of a new car in Russia. The promise of a very nice vehicle for which upper-middle-class Muscovites are ready to go into debt. Except that for all the consumer loans taken out, the repayment deadlines now take on a threatening appearance.
Especially for Olga, 33, a dependent child, slipping child support and working in a sector that has been under pressure since the sanctions were put in place. “ I work in the logistics sector in the railway industry. Obviously, the atmosphere is a little worrying, because we are encountering certain difficulties related to events taking place in the world and I am rather pessimistic about the future, because I can see in which direction the market is going. And it will also affect my income. My salary consists of a base salary and a bonus. The bonus depends on the objectives set. And so, lately, my income has gone down. So far, it’s averaged between 20 and 30 % less per month. I’m not sure what will happen next, but I hope my salary won’t go down further. »
Limit expenses
Like all her indebted friends, and there are many of them, Olga has already begun to limit her expenses: less leisure, less clothes.
The government regularly announces aid, especially to families. But Olga is not counting on that to make things better: “ I always rely only on myself. I don’t know how the state wants to help us, but anyway, I’m not interested. I know it out of habit, these are just words. »
►Also read: The ruble is doing well despite the sanctions imposed by the West