What's it like to live in Russia: everyday living conditions in the Russian Federation
- Damian Brzeski
- 3 hours ago
- 19 min read
Wondering what everyday life is like in a country that has been operating in the shadow of a "special military operation" for four years? Russia AD 2026 is no longer the same country we knew from reports from a decade ago.
This is a country where the price of potatoes and the temperature in the radiator depend directly on the situation on the front.
I invite you on a journey through the reality of 145 million people, where the propaganda of success collides with the brutal economics of survival.
Contrasts of everyday life in Russia
The fundamental characteristic of Russia today is neither poverty nor wealth, but extreme polarization. It's impossible to lump all its citizens together, because the life trajectories of a Muscovite and a Siberian provincial have diverged to a degree unprecedented in the country's modern history.
The world's largest country has become an archipelago of isolated islands of prosperity and a sea of stagnation. Instead of uniting the nation in poverty or prosperity, the war in Ukraine has created a chasm between regions that cannot be bridged with slogans.
Life in Moscow: Luxury and Inequality
Moscow in 2026 functions almost like a separate city-state, protected by a financial bubble.
The Kremlin ensures that the capital remains a showcase for the regime , shouting to the world: "Look, sanctions aren't working!" The authorities are pumping billions into the metropolis to maintain the loyalty of the middle class and officials.
However, living in the "glass tower" comes at a price. Here's how the cost of living in the capital compares to the national average:
Expenditure category | Moscow (Center) | Average for regions | Difference |
Apartment for rent (2 rooms) | 71,000 - 120,000 RUB | 25,000 - 35,000 RUB | ~250% |
Medium shopping basket | 32,000 RUB | 18,500 RUB | ~70% |
KM monthly ticket | 3,500 RUB | 1,800 RUB | ~90% |
Doctor's appointment (private) | 5,000 RUB | 1,200 RUB | ~300% |
A voice from Moscow: "We live in a bubble. There are no free tables in the restaurants on Patriarch's Ponds, people are drinking prosecco. But just look at the prices of taxis or coffee to understand that this party is taking place on credit." – Alexey, IT programmer, 34 years old.
Russian province: poverty and lack of prospects
However, travel beyond the borders of the Moscow Oblast (MKAD), and you'll find yourself in a different era. The number of Russian regions affected by systemic collapse is growing. Places like Tuva, Buryatia, and the Altai Republic are struggling for biological survival.
Budget deficits mean there's a shortage of money for basic repairs. For some regions of Russia, this means a return to the realities of the 19th century.
The main problems of the Russian province in 2026 are:
Desertification: In 2025 alone, more than 200 towns officially disappeared from the map .
Public transport in (provincial) Russia: In many municipalities, it has simply ceased to exist. Bus service closures due to a lack of spare parts are commonplace.
Demographic drain: Mass departure of men to the front and women to large cities for work.
Russian Million-Home Cities: Diverse Living Conditions
In 2025–2026, centers such as Yekaterinburg and Novosibirsk will be model examples of functioning within the framework of the so-called "military Keynesianism" .
At first glance, the economy is booming: factory chimneys are smoking and bonuses are paid in cash. However, beneath this facade lies a deep economic crisis in the civilian sector.
Cities that are the industrial base of the army are experiencing a specific dualism: a sudden influx of money from the defense sector and the simultaneous degradation of everything that does not serve the war.
Effect (Armata): For regions of Russia such as the Urals, the war became a powerful steroid. Sverdlovsk Oblast (the heart of heavy industry, home to a tank manufacturer
Uralvagonzavod) recorded an explosion of investments in fixed assets by more than 100% compared to 2021.
Wage data: Due to the need to fulfill state orders ( gosoboronzakaz ) and labor shortages, industrial wages in the Urals have increased by 78% (February 2022 – February 2025). This is narrowing the wage gap between the province and Moscow, but this applies only to selected sectors.
The "Butter" Effect: This growth, however, comes at the expense of civilians. Public services are being crowded out by military priorities.
Regional authorities, fighting for subsidies from Moscow, are shifting funds to "patriotic education" and soldier salaries, ignoring the crumbling infrastructure.
Here is the balance of profits and losses for residents of cities with a population of millions:
Area | Arms Sector (Beneficiaries) | Civilian Sector (Victims) |
Wages | 78% increase, high cash bonuses. | Real decline in purchasing power due to inflation ( 20-30% ). |
Employment | Staff "suction", stable employment. | Dramatic staff shortages (trade, services, police). |
Infrastructure | Priority supplies of energy and raw materials. | Public transport in regional Russia in collapse; heating networks crumbling. |
Cost of living | Possibility of quick repayment of debts. | Food prices are "eating" salaries (potatoes +81% ). |
The Dark Side of the Boom: Crime and Staffing Shortages Paradoxically, economic growth in these cities has gone hand in hand with a decline in safety.
Even state researchers from the Ministry of Internal Affairs in Yekaterinburg are warning of a wave of violent crime associated with the return of veterans from Ukraine.
Cities that were a recruitment base are now becoming places where demoralized units return, while the police alone are short of 170,000 officers nationwide.
Economic conditions and their impact on the lives of citizens
The Russian economy is in a state that economists call "overheating." Massive military spending is stimulating demand, but the supply of civilian goods cannot keep pace, leading to market absurdities. While Vladimir Putin promises stability, reality is creaking.
Drama at the checkout: Potato prices have skyrocketed by 81% , and butter by over 36%. Real food inflation is reaching 30%, a fact that no Rosstat statistics can hide – the economic crisis is visible in every shopping cart.
Aviation in parts: Public air transport in Russia is a gamble. Due to "cannibalization" (stripping aircraft into parts), the Superjets fleet will shrink by 80% by 2030, and passengers are increasingly flying cargo aircraft.
China's Volga: The domestic automotive industry has collapsed, with China taking over 60% of the market. New "Russian" cars are simply repackaged JAC models, while parts for Western brands have increased in price by almost 100%.
The Personnel Trap: Russia's record-low unemployment rate (2.3%) is a fiction resulting from mobilization and emigration in Russia . Russia currently faces a labor shortage, fueling a wage spiral that is deadly to civilian companies.
Credit Obstacle: Interest rates of 21% have cut off the financing of the Russian civilian economy . Only Kremlin-subsidized weapons factories will survive, while the rest stagnate.
Blood Economy: In some regions of Russia (such as Tuva and Buryatia), "coffin labor" has become the main source of income. This is a pathology in which death at the front is the only chance for repayment of debts and social advancement.
Russia's War Economy and Its Consequences
The entire state has been shifted into war mode. In 2026, military and security spending will consume nearly half of the federal budget ( 46% ).
The Russian economy currently has one goal: weapons production. The result? "Guns" have finally replaced "butter."
Structure of Russia's budget priorities (Estimates for 2026):
Armaments and army: Absolute priority (unlimited resources).
Internal Security: Police, Rosgvardia (mood control).
Social support: Buying loyalty (“coffin”)
Critical Infrastructure: Maintaining frontline logistics.
Rest (Education, Health): Residual funding.
Inflation and declining purchasing power
Official figures (around 6-7%) bear little resemblance to the horror reports. Real inflation in the food sector reaches 20-30% .
The economic crisis does not manifest itself in a sudden crash, but in a slow, painful impoverishment of society and the disappearance of products.
Sanctions work like a slow poison – they do not kill immediately, but systematically weaken the state organism.
Take a look at the real price increases for key products (2024 vs 2026):
Product | Price 2024 (RUB) | Price 2026 (RUB) | Growth (%) | Comments |
Potatoes (1 kg) | 35 | 95 | +171% | "Potato Crisis" |
Butter (200g) | 180 | 450 | +150% | A luxury product, often stolen |
Eggs (10 pcs.) | 90 | 160 | +77% | Poultry farm deficit |
Bread (loaf) | 45 | 80 | +77% | Reduced weight (shrinkflation) |
Car (Lada) | 800,000 | 2,100,000 | +162% | Missing parts, Chinese electronics |
Russian labor market: unemployment and low wages
We are dealing with a paradox: the phenomenon of unemployment in Russia has statistically almost disappeared (approx. 2.2%), but this is not a sign of strength.
This is evidence of a demographic catastrophe. Russia currently lacks millions of skilled workers—engineers, welders, and drivers.
An important phenomenon: the feminization of heavy industry. According to trade union data, women already make up 45% of the workforce in ammunition factories. Russia has a significant staffing gap, which it attempts to fill with propaganda about women's patriotic work.
Social inequalities and income stratification
The war reshaped the social ladder. Arms workers and the families of the fallen joined the new financial elite. The Kremlin pays handsomely for loyalty and blood.
New social ladder in Russia:
New Aristocracy: Officials, FSB officers, OPK directors.
Beneficiaries of War: Contract soldiers, mercenaries.
Middle Class (in decline): IT specialists, corporate employees (suffering from inflation).
Working Poor: Public sector, services.
Russian Poverty: Scale and Social Consequences
Despite the propaganda of success, poverty in Russia has the face of hunger. In 2025, as many as 31% of Russians reported that they had not had enough money for food in the previous 12 months .
Housing and infrastructure
One of the most distressing aspects of life is the degradation of infrastructure. For many in the world's largest country , maintaining district heating networks has become an insurmountable challenge.
Russian Housing: From Apartments to Barracks
The housing situation in Russia AD 2026 is like a journey back in time – depending on where you look, you see either futuristic developer visions or 19th-century poverty.
The housing market is in hibernation
The dream of owning your own "M" became unattainable for the average Russian. The market froze.
Mortgage loans with real interest rates above 25-30% are mathematical suicide for the household budget.
The end of the era of cheap money: Government subsidy programs (so-called low-cost mortgages) have been drastically cut due to lack of funds.
Developers are in a deadlock: Construction companies are still building new apartment buildings (they have to "draft plans"), but they remain empty. Entire "ghost neighborhoods" are emerging—concrete deserts devoid of residents who can't afford to buy them.
Khrushchevkas and temporary homes: relics of the past that refuse to go away
A national problem is so-called " emergency construction." This is a euphemism for the tragedy of millions of people.
Life in "barracks": In Siberia, the Far East, and the Russian North, entire settlements consist of wooden, two-story houses built in the 1930s and 1950s as "temporary" houses lasting 10 to 15 years. They still stand today. Rotting wood, mold on the walls, and sagging floors are common.
Lack of civilization: In the 21st century, in the world's largest country, millions of people live in these shacks without plumbing. Toilets are often a wooden outhouse in the yard (at -40 degrees Celsius in winter) or a bucket in the corner of the kitchen.
Municipal infrastructure: a ticking time bomb
A bigger problem than the lack of new housing is the disastrous condition of existing housing. The municipal housing sector is currently the second front line where Russia is suffering defeat.
Winter of Terror: Bursting pipes and geysers of boiling water in the streets are a winter commonplace from Podolsk to Novosibirsk. Heating networks date back to the Brezhnev era, with consumption exceeding 80% in some regions.
Domino effect: A single pipe failure at -30°C causes entire apartment blocks to freeze, radiators to burst in apartments and a power cut (when everyone turns on their heaters).
A sad fact: Green initiatives in Russia , such as passive construction and intelligent thermal management systems, have been completely abandoned. Faced with a shortage of Western components and the need to cut costs, the focus is on cheap, quick solutions. Instead of energy efficiency, cheap concrete and the cheapest insulation reign supreme, which only deepens the energy crisis.
Russian metro and public transport
While the Moscow Metro shines, public transport in regional Russia is dying.
Buses: Fleet older than 20 years, frequent breakdowns.
Trams/Trolleybuses: Discontinuation of networks in cities such as Belgorod and Kursk.
Chinese expansion: New vehicles come exclusively from China, but local governments cannot afford to service them.
Health and medical care
Instead of healing, the healthcare system itself requires resuscitation. Health problems in Russia are growing exponentially, and war priorities leave civilian patients alone.
Russian healthcare system: accessibility and quality
Key medications are disappearing from pharmacies. Sanctions have cut off access to Western medical technologies, which is clearly visible in hospital corridors. Here's a list of the pharmaceutical shortages:
Modern generation insulins .
Oncology drugs (targeted molecular therapies).
Antidepressants (SSRIs).
However, the shortage of pills is just the tip of the iceberg. The real drama is unfolding behind the scenes.
CT scan diagnostics on "word of honor" (Cannibalization Effect)
The lack of authorized service for Western CT and MRI scanners (e.g., Siemens, GE) has led to a situation straight out of a post-apocalyptic movie. Russian hospitals have lost their "eyes," drastically increasing the risk to patients:
Risky Repairs: Facilities are widely using "cannibalization" —taking apart one working CT scanner to resuscitate two others. This resource-draining approach is ineffective and cannot be used indefinitely.
Chinese precision (or rather, lack thereof): Spare parts imported from China often don't meet the specifications of the originals. The result? Reduced imaging precision, leading to misdiagnoses of cancer or brain injuries.
Technological collapse: Western manufacturers have halted deliveries not only of parts but also of new equipment ( even operating tables ). When a device "breaks down," it often becomes useless furniture, extending the waiting lists for tests indefinitely.
Alcoholism as a social and health problem
Faced with stress, Russia is turning to drinking again. Sales of alcohol addiction medications have increased by 13.5% . Vodka is once again the go-to anesthetic.
Russian psychiatry: the state of mental health care
The country is grappling with a surge in PTSD . Domestic violence and divorce are rife among veterans' families. The dark practice of punitive psychiatry has also resurfaced as a tool of repression.
Education and the future of the young generation
School has ceased to be a place of acquiring knowledge and has become a center for shaping individuals loyal to the government. Vladimir Putin personally oversees changes to the curriculum.
Russian education system: level and accessibility
The curriculum has been thoroughly rebuilt.
Subject: "Safety Basics" (Drone Operation).
History: Textbooks justifying the invasion.
Rituals: Weekly patriotic appeals.
Russian youth: lack of prospects and emigration
Young people (Generation Z and Alpha) today face a stark, binary choice: conformity or escape. There's practically no third path.
The phenomenon of emigration in Russia , despite closed air borders with the West and draconian mobilization regulations, continues to drain the country of its most talented individuals. This is no longer a "brain drain"—it is an amputation of the future.
Where are young Russians fleeing? (Geography of Escape 2026) As Europe and the US closed their doors, the vector of emigration shifted to the East and South.
Here are the main directions of "relocation":
Central Asia (Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan): A prime destination for the middle class and professionals. The availability of Russian language and banking systems make it a safe haven close to home.
South Caucasus (Armenia, Georgia): IT and startup hubs. Yerevan and Tbilisi have become the informal capitals of "Russia in exile," although political tensions in Georgia make life difficult there.
Transfer hubs (Serbia, Turkey): Belgrade will be the "Russian Berlin" in 2026 – the only window to Europe where planes from Moscow still fly.
Latin America and Southeast Asia (Argentina, Thailand): A destination for digital nomads and people who want to be as far away as possible from the Kremlin's (and Russian services') sphere of influence.
Those Who Stay: The Tech Trap. Young people who can't or won't leave are caught in a trap. Russia's tech industry , once a pride (Yandex, Telegram), has been completely subjugated to the war machine and censorship.
The End of Innovation: The IT sector has been cut off from Western know-how . Instead of creating new solutions, young engineers engage in reverse engineering (copying) illegally imported components or adapting ready-made solutions from China.
A golden cage: Working in IT still offers good earnings (often the only one that allows for a decent living), but it is associated with the risk of losing one's passport and a travel ban to prevent "valuable human resources" from fleeing abroad.
Chinaization of standards: The Russian labor market for engineers now requires knowledge of Chinese hardware and software more often than Western standards.
Society and interpersonal relations
The war cut deeply into the social fabric, dividing families.
Russian Everyday Culture and Family Life
Family life revolves around survival. The phenomenon of volunteering in Russia has changed its character – from helping the poor, it has often evolved into forced collections for army equipment (so-called "humanitarian aid" for the front).
Self-sufficiency data: In 2025, 42% of Russian families grew vegetables for their own consumption. Returning to the dacha is a necessity, not a hobby.
The role of women and the situation of children
Women bear a double burden. Discrimination in Russia is also growing—not only against ethnic minorities sent to the front, but also against the LGBT community, which has been completely outlawed.
The influence of politics and the media on the lives of citizens
Russian citizens live in an information bubble. Censorship in Russia has reached levels not seen since the Soviet era.
Russian sanctions and their effects on everyday life
The myth of "technological sovereignty" is collapsing.
Banking: Problems with international payments.
Internet: YouTube slowed to unusable levels.
Automotive: New Ladas without ABS and airbags.
Propaganda and the perception of reality
Television creates an alternative world. Many people choose "internal emigration," cutting themselves off from the news to avoid going crazy. The Kremlin effectively manages fear and apathy.
Here are the mechanisms that control the minds of Russians today:
The Digital Berlin Wall: This isn't a metaphor. The Kremlin has effectively cut off the oxygen to Western platforms. Instagram and Facebook are blocked, and YouTube has been deliberately throttled to 1 kbps, making video viewing virtually impossible. Instead, citizens are forced into the ecosystem of VK Video and RuTube , where algorithms promote only content that aligns with the party line.
School of Lies: History has been rewritten. Your child in a Russian school will learn from their textbook that 2014 in Ukraine was a "coup d'état" and the 2022 invasion is "necessary self-defense." Furthermore, students have a subject where they learn to "refute historical falsifications"—in other words, they learn, in practice, how not to believe the facts.
The Myth of the "New Elite": Television portrays returning veterans as the new aristocrats who are supposed to run the country. The reality screeches – local communities are terrorized by a wave of crime, rape, and murder committed by demoralized former prisoners and soldiers who feel they have impunity.
Survival Strategy: What is "Internal Emigration"?
How can one avoid going crazy in such a world? Russians are en masse opting for the turtle strategy—burying their heads in their shells and waiting. Sociologists call this phenomenon "internal emigration."
Here are examples of this mechanism in everyday life:
Ritual obedience ("Ticking the boxes"): This is most evident in schools. Teachers, forced to conduct propaganda lessons on "Talking about the important stuff," often do it "just to get lost." They treat it as a bureaucratic tribute that must be paid to have peace of mind. As one educator puts it, "We organize whatever they tell us to do, take photos for the report, and then forget ." It's a theater where everyone plays their part.
Tactical poverty: Big politics fades into the background when it comes to fighting for survival. When the price of butter rises by 36.5% and potatoes by 81% , citizens' attention is focused on how to get to the top, not on analyzing geopolitics. Fighting high prices effectively quells rebellion.
Fear management: The system encourages snitching. Teachers fear students (who might record them), and parents fear the school (who might report their "disloyalty" to the authorities). Cases like the imprisonment of a father from Tula for his daughter's anti-war drawing serve as a chilling example. Then there's the digital panopticon – the "Max" super-app, which gives the state insight into every citizen's transaction and conversation.
As a result, Russians in 2026 are living in limbo. They declare their support for the government (because it's safer), but in the privacy of their homes, they dream of only one thing: for the government to leave them in peace.
Culture, entertainment and ways of coping with reality
How to stay sane when the world is burning? Russians seek escape—sometimes in technology, sometimes in magic.
Festivals and cultural events
How can you avoid going crazy when the world is burning and the planning horizon has shrunk to a single week? Russians are seeking escape everywhere—sometimes in technology, sometimes in magic, and increasingly in the illusion of quick money.
Escape into irrationality and the "hope tax"
The sudden shift toward irrationalism is an interesting sociological phenomenon. The boom in the esoteric market is a fact – demand for the services of tarot readers, astrologers, and fortune tellers has increased by 40% .
When rational planning for the future in the world's largest country is impossible due to instability, people look to the stars for hope and a sense of control.
However, the authorities are preparing another, more down-to-earth form of "entertainment" for citizens.
Legalization of online gambling: The government, desperate for war funds, is preparing to lift the ban on online gambling. It's a cynical move—experts doubt it's a way to squeeze the last of Russia's savings out of society.
The casino always wins (for the Kremlin): The new market will not be free. Gambling will come under the strict control of state-owned monopolies.
Social Impact: As always in such cases, the poorest will lose out. For residents of the impoverished province, virtual roulette will become a false promise of a way out of poverty, leading only to a spiral of debt.
Digital Fortress: The Internet as a Tool of Isolation
The digital Iron Curtain has fallen with a bang, cutting off Russians from the global information system. Instead of innovation, Russia's technology industry is now focused on building a digital prison and tools for citizen surveillance.
Cat and mouse game: Millions of Russians still try to bypass the blocks using VPNs, but the state effectively combats these loopholes by banning one service after another.
Sovereign (read: closed) Internet: The government is promoting the concept of a "Runet"—a network cut off from the outside world. This is no longer just promoting state-owned media, but building an alternative ecosystem.
Indoctrination 2.0: Western platforms are being replaced by tightly controlled, state-run counterparts (VK, RuTube). These "safe" social media and messaging apps are used to precisely target propaganda and monitor sentiment. Society, trapped in this bubble, loses its point of reference, and the narrative of the "rotten West" becomes the only available truth.
Key quality of life indicators:
Area | Current status | Comment |
Economic security | Low (except for armaments) | Inflation eats away at savings; real poverty is rising. |
Food availability | Full, but expensive | The phenomenon of censorship in Russia even affects product labels (concealing ingredients). |
Municipal Services (ŻKH) | Critical | Chronic underfunding; burst pipes are a bigger problem than roads. |
Health care | Inefficient | Health problems in Russia are exacerbated by the lack of Western medicines. |
Social mood | Apathy / Anxiety | Escape into the private sphere, alcohol and mysticism. |
Russia – the first Third World country?
I'll be honest with you. When I sat down to write this report, I had a completely different narrative in mind. From my personal experience—and as a carrier, I've spent thousands of hours on routes in the East, transporting passengers and observing the country from the inside—I know one thing: it's possible to live a prosperous life in Russia.
Paradoxically, the Russian Federation reminds me of the United States in this respect. It's a country of limitless opportunities for those who can navigate the jungle of regulations, arrangements, and unwritten rules.
This is a place for the clever and the tough . However, this same Russia is also tragically ruthless and cruel to anyone who can't keep up or trips over their own feet.
My initial plan was to write a text in the tone of: "How to settle down in Russia" or "Is it possible to live a decent life there?"
But the deeper I delved into the topic, analyzing data on drug prices, burst pipes, and the fate of ordinary people, the more I became convinced of the sad conviction: Russia is a systemically defeated country .
Don't get me wrong – wealthy oligarchs and con artists will always land on their feet. Whether it's Moscow, New York, Berlin, or even North Korea – big capital will always find a way to live comfortably.
But true national prosperity is more than luxury cars on the streets of the capital. It's a state in which the entire population shares in the nation's wealth , not just a small elite.
It's not without reason that we increasingly hear the bitter claim that Russia is "the first Third World country." And that's precisely how we should view it.
The structure of its economy, based on the drain of raw materials, and the quality of life of the average provincial resident today resemble the realities of African countries more than contemporary Western economies.
So the next time you hear that “life is good in Russia,” remember the asterisk next to that sentence: it’s true, but only for a select few .
For ruthless capitalists, of whom there is no shortage in the East, it remains a land of vast, untamed opportunities . For everyone else, it's simply a school of survival, where dignity, and often even life, is at stake.
What's next? I leave you with this thought. If this image of reality has opened your eyes to what lies behind the facade of propaganda, please share this article.
It's important for us to understand what our neighbors are really facing, because history shows that what happens in Russia rarely stays in Russia.
FAQ: Life and Economic Conditions in Russia – Questions and Answers
Below you will find specific answers to the most frequently asked questions about the cost of living, safety, and everyday realities in the Russian Federation, based on current data from the fourth year of the war.
Is Russia safe in 2026? While relative peace prevails in large cities like Moscow, there is a risk of war in border regions, and political repression and crime against returning veterans have intensified across the country.
What is the real inflation rate in Russia? Official data puts it at 6-7%, but real food price increases reach 20-30% annually, and for some products (like potatoes) even exceed 150%.
Are there shortages of goods in Russian stores? The shelves aren't empty, but there's a shortage of Western branded products, and the available substitutes are of lower quality and subject to shrinkage.
What's the situation like in the labor market? Russia has record-low unemployment (around 2.2%), which is the result of a catastrophic labor shortage caused by mobilization and emigration, not economic growth.
Is public transport operating normally in Russia? In Moscow, it's exemplary, but in the regions, bus and trolleybus services are being shut down en masse due to a lack of spare parts and drivers.
How much does it cost to rent an apartment in Moscow? Prices in the capital's city center range from 71,000 to 120,000 rubles per month, a prohibitive amount for most citizens outside the IT or defense sectors.
Does the Russian healthcare system have access to medicines? There are serious shortages of imported drugs, including new-generation insulins, cancer drugs, and antidepressants, which are being replaced with less effective equivalents from India.
How do sanctions affect everyday life? Sanctions hinder international payments, access to electronics, car servicing, and travel, and degrade the quality of digital services.
Does YouTube and other social media work in Russia? YouTube is deliberately slowed down to unusable levels, and Western services (Instagram, Facebook) are blocked; VPNs are required, which the authorities are cracking down on.
Who earns the most in Russia in 2026? The highest incomes are earned by defense workers, contract soldiers, and high-ranking government officials.
Are mortgages affordable for ordinary people? Practically not, as real mortgage rates exceed 25-30%, which has completely frozen the middle-class real estate market.
What is the "potato crisis"? It's a sharp increase in potato prices (by 171% year-on-year) caused by a shortage of agricultural workers and logistical problems, hitting a staple of the Russian diet.
What is the education like for children in Russian schools? The education system is heavily militarized and politicized, with students having mandatory drone training and "talking about important things" promoting the Kremlin's narrative.
Do women have to work in heavy industry? Yes, due to the lack of men, there is a feminization of professions previously considered masculine, such as munitions factories or trucking.
How do Russians cope with heating outages? Due to underfunding of heating networks (the ŻKH sector) and burst pipes, residents rely on electric heaters for warmth, and in extreme cases, they light fires in their backyards.
Can you buy a new car in Russia? Yes, but prices are exorbitant (a Lada costs over 2 million rubles), and new vehicles often lack safety features like ABS or airbags.
What are "coffin wages"? This is a colloquial term for the high compensation paid by the state to the families of fallen soldiers, which has become a major source of income in the poorest regions.
Is alcoholism a growing problem in Russia? Yes, after years of decline, alcohol consumption is rising again, seen as an escape mechanism from the stress of war and the lack of prospects.
Why have fortune-telling services become so popular? The increased interest in esotericism and tarot (+40%) stems from fear of the future and a lack of trust in official media reports.
Is it possible to freely leave Russia? The borders are not completely closed, but leaving is logistically and financially difficult, and people of military age may encounter legal problems.
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