Amid sharply rising prices, inflation at 12.7% and disruption to supply chains due to Western sanctions, around 35% of Russian citizens say they are trying to reduce the cost of their weekly food shop, according to a survey published on Monday.
Of those who said they were trying to save money on food, 69% also told Russia’s state-funded pollster VTsIOM that they were in a difficult financial position.
Some 32% of those who responded to the poll also admitted that they had started spending less on beauty salons and cosmetics, the survey said.
According to the national statistics agency, Rosstat, around 43.2% of Russians have an income of under 27,000 rubles ($441) per month, while roughly a quarter of the population earns less than 19,000 rubles ($309) per month.
Amid the ongoing war in Ukraine and Western sanctions, the country’s economy has entered a recession as gross domestic output fell by 4% in the third quarter, Rosstat said in its report published earlier this month.
Despite its contracting economy, Russia's unemployment rate stood at 3.9% in September, according to Rosstat.
AFP contributed reporting
