Russia Starts to Shutdown - Joe Blogs [View all]

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.