CNN says inflation is skyrocketing in Russia:
Butter, some meats, and onions are about 25% more expensive than a year ago, according to official data.... Inflation is being driven by the rapid rise in wages as the Kremlin pours billions into military industries and sends millions of men to fight in Ukraine.
Hmmm. "Some" meats. And onions. OK. But what's the actual overall inflation rate?
Inflation is good and high in Russia. But it always is. The current spike is only the 7th biggest since 2002. Ditto for the food spike. And it seems like they both might have peaked three months ago. I have a feeling the Russian people aren't going to stage a revolt over this.
The only possible revolt will be because of a draft that includes a lot of men from the upper class in Moscow and St. Petersburg.
Putin dying like Stalin in '53 is the "okay, what now?" scenario.
I suppose if it has always been that way there’s not much incentive to cook the proverbial books, but someone beholden to Putin is the source of these figures, yes?
Russia is having no inflation; ruble is world's most desired currency, which is why whole world in love with Russia: North Korea, Iran, Belarus. Is also why Novorussian people (whom Amerikansky dog-kepitalists call "oo-kraines") fight so hard against Western Imperialist to join Glorious Mother Russia and her most handsome and not actually short at all President for Life Putin.
Even respected Amerikansky journalist Tucker Carlsonsky (on special Russia-curated trip to Moskow) recognize that Russia is Best Country, especially if ignore non-Moscow and numerous War Heroes back from front lines, many of which so happy be back in Russia they no longer need excess limbs or even travel in pine box--free gift from Glorious Leader Putin!
Like many American voters, Russians are well trained in blaming hardship on whatever target their dear leader disinfo sources tell them to blame. In this case, it's clearly American homosexual space laser Jews. Definitely not Putin's war of choice in Ukraine. Definitely not. Please send draft-age sons!
The question is why, and the answer is what matters.
It’s (as you might imagine) difficult to be certain, but the answer appears to be that the transportation system (especially trains) is very close to total collapse. This has implications for what things have become more expensive (eg bulk, designed to move by train, with a time stamp on them [so delays result in spoilage]).
As far as we can tell, the system now has frequent derailments in the provinces, and is starting to get frequent derailments near Moscow. Some stuff is being transferred to road but, as you might expect, this is now chewing up roads that aren’t prepared for those weights.
The timing kinda checks out. The critical parts that are dying (ball bearings and such) are from the west, and have a useful life of about two years…
Why not China? The Chinese stuff is just not good enough, at least not yet…
From where did the Soviets/Russians source things like ball bearings during the Cold War? East Germany?
Good question. Possibly East Germany. Also Sweden?
Also the US kinda vacillated back and forth about this. eg in 1972, after 11 year of trying, the Soviets were allowed to buy 164 ball-bearing grinding machines from the US.
When I said ballbearing I was referring to a more general thing that sits below the train and somehow cushions it from the tracks, I guess acting as a combination of rolling platform, handling curves, and breaking. I don't know much about trains, and in particular I don't know what this thing is called, but I remember from what I read that one of the more demanding parts in it involved ball-bearings, and that its expected lifespan is about two years.
Useful to note that the last two times there were serious revolts in Russia were at the height of the wars with Japan (1905) and Germany (1917) and we're not really close to those levels of failure quite yet.