As Karl Marx said, “specter looms large above Europe-the specter of communism”. But in the case of Russia, the specter of recession and inflation is looming large. Ukraine is devasted with war effects- from destruction to economic destruction to mental distortion. But the picture of Russia is also not that of the happy one.
A video has surfaced and is being circulated on social media where Russians are going berserk and fighting with each other for sugar in a supermarket. The video shows how scarce the staple food has become due to the economic fallout of the war in Ukraine.
This also shows the story of the other side of the coin where the war has raged havoc in Russia as well. Maybe they are not the ones to be killed but they are suffering the economic crisis. As per the report, some stores and supermarkets in Russia have imposed a 10-kg limit per customer. Sugar prices have increased drastically, with annual inflation in Russia hitting its highest level since 2015.
In the video clip, people can be seen shouting, fighting, and climbing over each other in a shopping market to grab pouches of sugar. This reflects the challenges faced by the Russians during the time of recession. Also, not all Russians support the war. There are citizens who stand in solidarity with Ukrainians and to showcase this there was a large-scale protest. But the protesters met with the violence of the police and were broken down.
Meanwhile, the Russian government has imposed a temporary restriction on sugar exports from the country. The cost of sugar has soared by 31 percent, while several other products are also becoming expensive as a result of western sanctions. Also, according to reports only 1percent of oil exportation is being carried out by Russia.
This nonetheless, gives us the glimpse that not everything is right in Russia either and the normal public is facing the challenges of existential crisis as well as that of the war crisis. There is trouble in paradise for Russia as well along with Ukraine. If the scenario goes on like this then, the economy can crumble down as war can drain all the finances of the government. This is what happened during World War 2. The drainage of British wealth led them to leave their colonies. And even now Russia is facing the same financial crunch.
Watch the video
The war and war effects are long-term, after 3 weeks of the invasion, there is no solution. So, the war has to stop reprimanding peace in the world and also for humanity. As the humanitarian crisis is the biggest crisis that is faced by the world.
Otherwise, Samuel Beckett’s play, “Endgame” becomes evident and everything becomes a “Wasteland” in the end.
