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I've traveled to/from Russia a few times since 2022 and this is accurate. A few things I can add:
- I think UnionPay is increasingly accepted for card payments in more shops, so possibly China could be another "friendly" country to open a bank. UnionPay cards can be applied for in places like the US, but I think UnionPay cards issued by the US don't work in Russia.
- She listed Turkey, Dubai (UAE), and Georgia as layovers to enter Russia. Another way which is used by Europeans is to cross by bus through Narva, Estonia. But this recently became more complicated because the Narva crossing is over a bridge which is now under construction. Now, you must cross the border bridge by foot and transfer to a different bus after passing border control. Unfortunately, Estonia does not allow exporting euros to Russia more than what is needed to reach the destination. So you must take some non-euro cash to fund your trip.
- Turkish Airlines is recently making it more difficult to travel to Central/South America if you have a Russian passport, by preventing Russians from boarding even if their documentation is all correct (visa, return ticket, etc). TA blames this on Mexico and Mexico says they always reserve the right to decide who enters the country. So I sense there is pressure being applied to these countries under the guise of preventing illegal immigration to the US, but in reality as a form of secondary sanctions against Russia.
Mexico is doing that to a lot of countries, not just Russia. Big problem with Colombians getting turned away at immigration too.
To be fair, the median for income in Russia is somewhat lower, but yeah prices aren't exactly skyrocketing there.
that's some expensive cheese, a typical price for cheese here is around 1 ruble for 1 gram (you can get it like 2x cheaper if you buy cheap cheese)
also, I haven't watched the video but cheese is typically sold in 200g packs
Wouldn't that relatively low price be offset by Russian salaries being way lower than American ones? Even the median salary in Moscow, where the creator lives, is significantly lower. Recent figures on purchasing power in Russia only go back to 2022, where $1 is equivalent to approx. 30 rub. (source: OECD) That would make the "true" price of that wedge of cheese $6.67
My mother is Russian and has some contacts and family in Russia. She went to Saint Petersburg last year for personal matters. She often talks about how little the ruble is worth and things being more expensive. Is she exagerrating?
Uh, a median wage will always have 50 percent of people above and below it, because that's how a median is defined: as the middle of a number sequence.
I think you meant the average wage, which is ~$60,000 in the US and in Russia it's $15,000 (nominal) or $41,333 (PPP*). For reference, the average income for Poland is $21,000 (nominal) or $49,000 (PPP*). Two-thirds of Americans earn below $60,000. Russia's income inequality is similar to that in the US: both seem to have a Gini coefficient around 0.4. Therefore, we can assume that it's a similar distribution in Russia, aka two-thirds earning below $15,000 (nominal) or $41,333 (PPP*). (*2022 PPP values from OECD)
Taxation also affects things. An NYT article mentions this (April 27, 2024):
Most Russians pay income tax at a flat rate of 13 percent, significantly lower than what taxpayers in the United States and Western Europe typically pay. In an interview in March, Mr. Putin said he planned to introduce a new progressive tax scale in part to alleviate poverty, a popular message among many Russians who support increasing taxes on the country’s rich, which have historically been low. The article is about the government looking to raise the tax rate to 15 percent for people earning above $10,000 (nominal).
Using official statistics, consumer prices in Russia since February 2022 have risen by 20-21% in total. For the same time period it's 14% in the European Union and 10% in the United States. This is similar to their inflation rates for 2022+2023. If I add up month-on-month CPI increases for the period by hand, it's 56% for Russia, 18% for the EU, and 40% for the US. I don't know where that discrepancy comes from, did I do something wrong? I used Consumer Price Index data from Tradingeconomics.com
Finally there's incomes. Wage growth in the EU and US is on average similar to their inflation rates. But in Russia it's 36%, significantly higher than the inflation rate of 21%. Of course there's the matter of how that growth is distributed, but at a first glance it suggests that not as many Russians suffer from the higher prices as the high inflation rate would suggest, though this will vary by region.
Consumer Price Index, month-on-month change in percentage points
Blue: Russia
Show
Green: European Union
Show
Red: United States
Show
Definitely more than DPRK given that UN sanctions against them have just been lifted. Meanwhile, Cuba is sanctioned by US, and most countries aren't participating. Meanwhile, Russia is being sanctioned by the US and all their vassals.
UN sanctions against them have just been lifted
Oh shit nice
Cuba is sanctioned by US, and most countries aren’t participating.
isnt the blockade making it harder for other countries to trade, even if they are not participating directly?
Any ship that docks in Cuba can't dock in the US for like 6 months I think, which screws them over trade wise cuz the nearest port is in Florida so it makes it pretty unprofitable for most commercial shipping companies to do business with them. Who wants to drop buy a small developing island nation port without also going to the wealthy developed nation port right next door?
Yes. Americans will seize vessels heading toward Cuba, sanction companies that trade with them, forbid any vessel that enter a Cuban harbor to anchor at an american harbor for months on end, if ever. Not to mention all the behind the doors rat-fucking they do.
The Economic War Against Cuba by Salim Lamrani goes into all of this if anyone is interested.
It does, but vast majority of the world, including US allies like Canada, doesn't agree with it and trades with Cuba.
I found a YouTube link in your post. Here are links to the same video on alternative frontends that protect your privacy:
