'We just have to limit ourselves': Russians struggle with 'crazy' prices
Western sanctions have disrupted supply chains and dozens of consumer brands have left the country, while inflation is now running above 10 percent.
Meanwhile, deep labour shortages caused by massive recruitment by the army and arms manufacturers, have seen both salaries and prices jump higher.
Russia's Central Bank last week cut interest rates from a two-decade high, saying inflation -- including food prices -- was starting to come under control.
But for many hard-pressed Russians, it does not feel that way.
Paltievich's wife, Tatyana, stood next to him clutching a small punnet of strawberries -- a precious treat for her grandchildren that set her back 400 rubles ($5).
"We survived 1991, so now we're not afraid of anything," she said defiantly, in reference to the collapse of the Soviet Union and the economic chaos that followed.
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The Hindu
6 hours ago
- The Hindu
India must stand with international law and UN charter: Ukraine Minister
Ukraine is ready for direct summit-level talks with Russia, said a senior Minister here, adding that the role of India and other countries should be to facilitate talks, rather than seek to mediate at this point. In an interview to The Hinduahead of the G-7 summit outreach sessions in Kananaskis, Canada, on June 17, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy are both special invitees, Ukraine's First Deputy Foreign Minister Sergiy Kyslytsya said that he couldn't confirm if the two leaders would hold bilateral talks, but hoped that India would choose to support 'international law and the UN charter', when it comes to the Russia-Ukraine conflict. 'India is the largest democracy on the world's political map... And if India wants to continue to build up its image as a democratic state, then India has only one choice, of being on the side of the international law and UN Charter,' Mr. Kyslytsya said when asked about Ukraine's expectations from India. Asked about an Indian role in mediating the conflict given its ties with both countries, Mr. Kyslytsya said that in the present scenario, Ukraine would welcome any country that facilitates talks like the Istanbul process where two rounds of Russia-Ukraine talks have been held. 'India has a history of centuries and traditions in the area of peaceful resolutions. So it's for India to say if it is ready and willing to play a role,' he said, expressing gratitude for the humanitarian assistance provided by India to Ukraine thus far. He also said that India-Ukraine trade could be built in a number of areas from food to high-tech advanced weaponry, especially drone technology that has been enhanced since the Russian invasion in 2022. No change in stance Despite requests from Ukraine during Mr. Modi's visit to Kyiv in August last year, and another Modi-Zelenskyy meeting in September, New Delhi has not thus far changed its position on the Russia-Ukraine war, or calls to stop importing Russian oil under Western sanctions. In February, India abstained from another resolution at the UN General Assembly calling for a ceasefire, and its imports of Russian oil reached record highs of 1.8 million barrels last month. Asked this week about India's position, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said in an interview in Brussels to news portal Euractiv that India has strong ties with both Russia and Ukraine, but that 'every country, naturally, considers its own experience, history and interests'. Pointing to Western inaction over Pakistan's occupation of Kashmir since 1947, Mr. Jaishankar said that 'if [Western] countries – who were evasive or reticent then – now say 'let's have a great conversation about international principles', I think I'm justified in asking them to reflect on their own past,' he said, when pressed about why India does not criticise Russia for being an 'aggressor' in Ukraine. 'Ceasefire first' The Ukrainian Minister said Mr. Zelenskyy will declare clearly at the G-7 summit outreach that Ukraine is prepared for summit-level talks between Mr. Putin and Mr. Zelenskyy, although it is unlikely Russia would accept that immediately. 'The Russians have a different logic, that Ukraine must surrender first, and then after we surrender, they will commit to a summit meeting and a ceasefire. Our logic is the reverse. We say, let's have the ceasefire that will contribute to a conducive environment for the meeting of the presidents,' he said. Speaking about 'Operation Spider Web' in which Ukraine attacked several Russian military bases and destroyed Russian strategic fighter jets using 117 drones smuggled into Russia on June 1, Mr. Kyslytsya said Ukraine's military operation had 'debunked' all the 'doomsday scenarios' that its forces were failing in the war by carrying out the complex attack. However, he accepted that the drone attack was not 'enough to change the tide and to change the situation in the battlefield. 'We are clearly dealing with the war of attrition [by Russia], and neither of the two sides, either in terms of resources or capacities, is able to achieve a major breakthrough,' Mr. Kyslytsya told The Hindu on the sidelines of a conference on conflict resolution in Oslo last week.
Hans India
9 hours ago
- Hans India
Israel says it struck over 80 sites in Tehran, targeting nuclear research facilities
Israeli Air Force aircraft struck more than 80 sites across the Iranian capital, Tehran, over the past day, the Israeli military's spokesman, Effie Defrin, said on Sunday, as Israel continued airstrikes across the Islamic Republic for a third consecutive day. The wave of attacks began at 22:45 on Saturday and continued through Sunday morning. "The aircraft operated via the aerial corridor we paved to the centre of Iran," Defrin said in a briefing to reporters, adding that Israeli forces also struck Houthi sites in Yemen. "We are not stopping our attacks for even a moment," he said. The targets included the SPND (Organisation of Defensive Innovation and Research), a facility in Tehran believed by Israeli and Western intelligence to be involved in nuclear weapons-related research. The Air Force also targeted facilities for centrifuge production used in uranium enrichment, a research and development centre for chemical materials that Israel claims was used to produce raw materials for nuclear weapons, and other laboratories that, according to the military, contained "unique components and projects contributing to the development of nuclear weapons." Defrin confirmed that the Air Force also struck fuel depots near Tehran. Since the initial attack early Friday, more than 250 sites have been struck. "Even at this hour, we are continuing to strike dozens more targets in Tehran," Defrin said. "We are deepening the damage to the nuclear program and to military capabilities in order to disrupt and reduce the threat to the Israeli home front." Since Saturday night, approximately 60 surface-to-surface missiles and dozens of unmanned aerial vehicles were launched by Iran, Defrin said, adding that the strikes killed 10 civilians. A missile launched by Houthi forces in Yemen was intercepted by Israeli aerial defence systems. The Iranian missile barrages were in retaliation for an Israeli surprise attack early Friday that struck nuclear facilities across Iran. Several nuclear scientists and senior military officials were killed. According to Iranian figures, at least 78 people were killed on Friday, with dozens more killed on Saturday. It said the fatalities include at least 29 children.
Mint
11 hours ago
- Mint
Manu Joseph: What Elon Musk can learn from the ‘richest man ever'
Elon Musk, the world's richest man among those whose wealth is known, recently found himself in a rare spot for someone of his influence: overplaying his hand. In a public spat with Donald Trump, Musk denounced the American president, suggested he should be impeached and even floated a serious allegation involving the late Jeffrey Epstein, who was charged with sex trafficking minors. Musk also claimed his money helped Trump win the presidency. Such bluster would have been the doom of a billionaire in most nations. That Musk survived this is due to the one Western value he unwittingly relied on while helping ruin it: the right to criticize power fearlessly. Also Read: X factor: The rise and fall of Elon Musk as a political figure Yet, even in America, where the old habit of being the West lingers, Musk was forced to back-pedal. Trump threatened him on social media with legal scrutiny and the withdrawal of government contracts. To understand the limits of wealth when it meets state power, Musk may want to get to know, if he doesn't already, one man who many consider the richest person who ever lived. No one clarifies the relationship between money and state better than Jacob Fugger, a 16th-century banker. In today's money, Fugger's wealth would be worth some $400 billion dollars in hard assets. Musk's net worth is similar, but more volatile, as we have seen lately. But this does not demonstrate Fugger's true financial might in his time. In his book,The Richest Man Who Ever Lived: The Life and Times of Jacob Fugger, Greg Steinmetz states that when Fugger died in 1525, his wealth amounted to 2% of Europe's GDP at a time when Europe was an economic powerhouse and there was no US. In comparison, Musk's peak net worth was lower as a proportion of the US economy. Also Read: Why regretful tweets can't fix Musk's Tesla mess The political influence of Musk is impressive, but Fugger was at another level. Fugger dealt with emperors and popes. He financed wars, revolutions and once practically bought the Holy Roman Empire for his royal client. He also got a pope to cancel a Christian sin—usury, or the practice of charging interest on loans. In 1523, he wrote a letter to Charles V, one of the most powerful men on earth at the time as the holy Roman Emperor with a string of other monarchic titles. To this man, his lender Fugger wrote, 'It is well known that without me your majesty might not have acquired the imperial crown… You will order that the money which I have paid out, together with the interest upon it, shall be reckoned up and paid without further delay." The first part of the quoted line sounds like Musk and on the whole it appears even more self-destructive than Musk's online fight with Trump. But Charles paid up. Maybe because Fugger was not being as disrespectful as we imagine, maybe medieval Europe was a place where seasoned men of the world spoke frankly. Also, Fugger was right; Charles couldn't do without him. Also Read: Musk versus Trump: A case of mutually assured destruction Fugger, like Musk, was given to boasting. But his boasts were strategic—a form of advertising to remind monarchs that only he could move great sums. Whatever Fugger did must have been respectful by the customs of his time. In any case, he did not hesitate to flatter. After all, it was an age when it was not so hard for an emperor to execute a mere wealthy man, or put him away in some dungeon. But there was a delicate way to deal with power. Emperors controlled all land and they could convert it into money, but a way of the world even then was that rulers ruled by spending money and not making it. So they needed those special men who knew how to make it, who had a lot of it and who could lend it in return for various privileges, like mining rights. It was a tricky business to lend to emperors, for those powerful men were often broke and could simply renege. The only thing stopping them was a loss of reputation, which would make their future borrowing impossible or more expensive. Even so, emperors stole all the time from businessmen. Also Read: Manu Joseph: America and the bearable loneliness of losing the West When Charles's grandfather Emperor Maximilian needed funds, he didn't just ask nicely. He forced Fugger and other bankers to buy imperial bonds with no collateral, under a 'fairness' argument—that people like Fugger were able to do business because of the safety and peace Maximilian assured. Fugger wrote to Maximilian stating something many capitalists after him would say—that big business, by its very existence, is a moral force because it creates employment. But eventually, Fugger had to buy bonds. Like Musk, Fugger took great political bets. He funded the Church and also sponsored events that led to a movement against the Church, the Reformation. He also pioneered an early news network to gain an intelligence advantage over rivals. Yet, through it all, Fugger knew how to behave in front of a crown. Fugger appeared to understand that there were two streams of power—one that came from the masses, which was accumulated in one person, the power of the state. And another sort of power which came from being useful to the state. In Fugger's time, it was very clear that it was foolish to challenge the state's power. In Musk's time, there is a feeling in the West that a man like him can challenge the state, or the new emperors of our time. This is a myth. Sure, Musk is wildly famous himself, which could lead anyone in his place to overvalue it. But being famous is not the same as being the repository of the will and grouses of people. Celebrity is often not the same as politics. The author is a journalist, novelist, and the creator of the Netflix series, 'Decoupled'.
