Since 2022, prices in Russia have risen, familiar brands have vanished and everyday life has quietly become more expensive and more fragile. In this episode of Russia Unfiltered, Jonny Tickle, James C Pearce and Jeremy Morris talk through the real cost of living behind the official statistics: supermarket bills that have doubled, fast food and business lunches that no longer feel cheap, and imported goods, car parts, medicines and electronics that now arrive through parallel routes at higher prices and lower quality. They look at how tax changes, new fees on cars and appliances and quietly rising utility costs are reshaping budgets, how people in Moscow, Yekaterinburg and provincial towns are downsizing their lifestyles or sliding into wage arrears, and why visible wealth in big cities hides deep inequality. Finally, they discuss the emotional side of all this, from patience and “hunkering down” to a generation that has put its dreams, travel plans and even starting families on hold because they no longer believe their money, or the situation, will improve any time soon.

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