Foreign Affairs

TexasTowelie

(126,604 posts) Tue Feb 24, 2026, 12:36 AM 17 hrs ago

Russia Starts to Shutdown - Joe Blogs

Russia’s economy is showing clear signs of slowing down, and one of the biggest warning signals is coming from an unexpected place — restaurants.

Across the country, cafes and dining outlets are now closing at the fastest pace since 2022, as consumer spending stalls and demand weakens.

In this video, we break down the latest data from Sberbank’s SberIndex platform, showing how spending growth has collapsed, why customers are cutting back, and how rising costs and high interest rates are putting huge pressure on businesses.

With real consumer spending growth now at zero and economic growth slowing sharply, this could be one of the clearest signs yet that Russia’s economy is entering a new phase.

This isn’t just about restaurants — it’s about the broader economy and what happens next.

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Russia Starts to Shutdown - Joe Blogs (Original Post) TexasTowelie 17 hrs ago OP

Steve Rosenberg is the BBC Russian Correspondent irisblue 14 hrs ago #1

irisblue

(37,196 posts)

1. Steve Rosenberg is the BBC Russian Correspondent

Reply to TexasTowelie (Original post)

Tue Feb 24, 2026, 03:29 AM

14 hrs ago

Thank you for the original post Texas Towelie

Source-https://bbc.com/news/articles/c4gj20xzw39o

snip-"Four years later, Russia's war on Ukraine grinds on. It has lasted longer than Nazi Germany's brutal war on the Soviet Union, known here as the Great Patriotic War."

snip-"The Russian authorities do not release casualty figures for the so-called "special military operation". But Russia is known to have suffered huge battlefield losses. So many of the towns and villages I've visited in the last two years have had museums and monuments dedicated to soldiers killed in Ukraine, as well as separate sections for recent war dead at local cemeteries."

snip-"Wars are financially draining. With Russia's budget deficit growing and the economy stagnating, the government has raised VAT from 20% to 22%. The Finance Ministry says the extra revenue will be spent on "defence and security."

snip-"Russians feel that life is getting harder. Few believe they have the power to change that. As the war enters its fifth year, there's little optimism. Many people here are just hunkering down and waiting, hoping for better times."

more there

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