russia’s new economic plan is called the “forever rate,” which is just a fancy way to say “we broke it, we aint fixing it, get comfy.” the war’s chewing up the economy, the market’s in meltdown, and the only thing moving faster than inflation is the price at the pump. want to know how russia’s doing? check the nearest gas station—if you can find one open. spoiler: unless you’re in moscow, good luck.
central bank “stability” means pain forever
the central bank’s key rate is parked in the stratosphere, and the regime calls this “stability.” translation: “we ran out of ideas, so we’ll just leave the pain dialed up forever.” every russian business was praying for a rate cut, hoping for some cheap money to keep the lights on. now the only thing getting cut is hope. the war torched any shot at a rebound, and with ukrainian strikes smashing refineries, the fuel crisis is now a lifestyle, not a blip.
the last big refinery, omsk, just got smoked too. that’s like losing your last lighter in a blackout. the regime’s answer? just keep the rate sky-high and call it a win. nobody’s fooled, except maybe the guys on tv who still think “stability” means anything but “we’re stuck.”
the only “innovation” left is figuring out what you can mix into gasoline before your engine gives up.
budget magic and the deficit nobody talks about
the budget’s a dumpster fire. they bragged about a “surplus” in august, but that’s just because sberbank and other state companies coughed up massive dividends to the government. it’s like selling your own furniture to pay rent—looks fine for a month, but you’re still broke and now you got nowhere to sit. the real deficit is still almost 6 trillion rubles.
the regime’s solution? more taxes, more “nationalizations,” more squeezing whatever’s left. they even fired their top economist at the state investment bank for saying the quiet part out loud: russia is losing the war and the economy is circling the drain. replaced him with a guy who used to work for bloomberg, because nothing says “we’re fine” like hiring a western-trained economist to manage your collapse.
fuel crisis: the new normal
the fuel crisis is killing everything. gas prices are up nearly 1% a week, now hitting 150 rubles a liter in some places. diesel stopped getting cheaper, and that little seasonal dip in inflation? gone. the government’s playing whack-a-mole with prices, trying to keep the official inflation number from exploding, but it’s like holding back a flood with a mop.
they’re hoarding fuel for moscow and the big cities, leaving the regions to fight over scraps. most small-town gas stations are either closed or rationing 20-30 liters per car, with lines that look like a bread queue in the 90s. the colonial system is on full display: all the resources go to the capital, everyone else gets told to clap harder.
- gas prices up 1% a week
- 150 rubles a liter in some regions
- rationing at 20-30 liters per car
- small-town stations closed or with massive lines
car sales, farming, and the “import substitution” joke
car sales are tanking—down 20-30% at dealerships. avtovaz, the pride of russian auto, is basically a zombie company now, running on subsidies and vibes. they’re not planning to make a profit for years, just hoping the government keeps the cash coming. farmers are getting crushed too, because fuel is everything in agriculture. no gas, no harvest, no food.
but hey, at least the regime can still brag about “import substitution,” right? except now they’re importing fuel, because they blew up their own supply chain. and the “quality” of what’s left? with so many refineries offline, the stuff that does make it to the pump is getting watered down and “bodjazhennyy”—cut with whatever’s handy. that’s great news if you like your car engine to sound like a washing machine full of bricks.
market panic and the platform meltdown
the market’s in full panic. every time there’s a new ukrainian strike, the ruble takes another nosedive, and the business world gets another migraine. the hope for cheap credit is dead, and with it, any chance of a real recovery. inflation is back, and this time it’s not leaving. even the official stats can’t hide it anymore.
online platforms are getting wrecked too. wildberries, the russian amazon knockoff, is bleeding money. sellers are losing hundreds of billions of rubles, and most of those losses are just getting written off. no compensation, no bailout, just “sorry, your problem.” the platform economy is supposed to be the future, but in russia, it’s just another way to spread the pain around.
nationalization: the last stage of cope
putin’s latest move is to grab whatever’s left of the private sector and call it “patriotic.” translation: “we ran out of other people’s money, so now we’re taking yours.” the collapse of ozon, the russian e-commerce giant, is just the start. every time the regime grabs another company, investors run for the hills, and the market gets even shakier. it’s like watching a guy eat his own foot because he’s out of food.
the big picture? the war is a black hole sucking in money, resources, and any hope of a future. the regime keeps promising victory, but all they deliver is more poverty, more shortages, and more excuses. the “forever rate” is just a monument to failure—proof that they can’t fix anything, so they’ll just freeze the pain and hope you get used to it.
propaganda, ration cards, and the new russian dream
meanwhile, the propaganda machine is still cranking out fairy tales. they’ll tell you everything’s fine, that the west is suffering more, that russia is “adapting.” sure, if “adapting” means standing in line for gas and praying your car doesn’t explode. the real adaptation is learning to survive with less, because that’s all the regime has left to offer.
they’ll keep blaming sanctions, keep promising a turnaround, but the truth is simple: you can’t bomb your way to prosperity, and you can’t run a modern economy on vibes and ration cards. the “forever rate” is here to stay. the war isn’t just killing people, it’s killing the economy, and the regime’s only plan is to keep the pain coming. the market knows it, the people know it, and even the regime’s own economists know it—right before they get fired for saying so.
the only thing left to nationalize is the misery. welcome to the new russian dream: a line at the gas station, a car that won’t start, and a government that swears it’s all going according to plan.
russian economic strategy in 2024: if you cant fix it, just call it stability and hope nobody notices the smoke.