The market for iPhones in Russia is not looking as healthy as it was before the economy and the rouble took a nosedive.
Buckwheat prices in Russian shops are soaring without any apparent reason. Russians are stocking up on this nutritious and usually cheap foodstuff, anticipating the worst is yet to come.
The Kremlin has adopted a deliberate strategy – to let the rouble continue falling as the 'lesser of two evils'; and protect President Putin’s core support base.
Even as the Russian rouble responds to Central Bank intervention, people are taking to the streets in search of imported goods. Meanwhile, President Putin makes a few phone calls.
As the rouble collapses, residents of Tomsk have long memories — from Black Tuesday 1994 to Black Tuesday 2014.
