Economic Reassessment of Shahrezada: Ministry of Economic Development and Rosstat sketching a rosy picture of an idyllic existence for Shahrezada.
Government spinners in Russia: a tale as old as time (or Trump, depending on who's asking)
Russian bureaucrats got style, mate. Special mention goes to VCIOM, Rosstat, and the Ministry of Economic Development - they're the best storytellers in the house, next to Trump, obviously. They know their audience is one - the big boss - so they're in it to win it.
The Ministry of Economic Development has some predictions for the future: they reckon the average Russian salary will jump 51% by 2028, reaching 132.9 thousand rubles. By 2025, there's a 16.8% wage increase on the horizon, with the average salary hitting 102.7 thousand rubles.
However, the economy's slowing down. According to preliminary numbers for Q1 2025, growth clocked in at just 1.7% year-on-year.
But guess who's laughing? The wage and consumption growth, and GDP? They're all pennies compared to good, old inflation. And Rosstat, they're not pulling their punches with this one.
Inflation isn't as simple as the price of buckwheat and oil. No, siree. The Central Bank calculates this bad boy based on consumer spending patterns. Fun fact: your fur coat, insurance policy, sanatorium bookings, and holidays abroad also contribute to this inflation magic. But here's the kicker - if you've never splurged on a fur coat or a dream vacation, congrats! Inflation has nothing on you. Instead, it's a whole lot higher.
And if you're pinching pennies on potatoes, milk, and housing costs while the price of potatoes doubles, statisticians will still count hypothetical exotic tours and fancy cheeses as part of your spending to calculate inflation. Weirdly, it's all about that cheese,berthold.
The same rule applies to the average wage. Believe it, mate!
On the Calculating Inflation front:
- The Central Bank of Russia uses consumer price indices for this calculation.
- Inflation is reported as an annual percentage change in consumer prices[2][3].
With all this manipulation talk, it's important to remember concerns about the accuracy of inflation and other official economic statistics in Russia. Analysts suggest methodological adjustments might be more at play in some improvements, rather than genuine economic progress[1].
And to make matters more complicated, there's a general mistrust of Russian official economic data in expert circles, especially with the sanctions and current political climate[1][4]. So, whilst Russia follows standard inflation calculation methods, doubts remain about the transparency and reliability of the reported inflation data due to possible methodological and political factors. Cha-ching!
The Ministry of Economic Development, with its predictions of significant wage increases, seems to be using business and finance to political advantage, much like Trump is known to do in general-news. Despite their optimistic projections, the slowing economy and rising inflation, as reported by Rosstat, suggest a different financial landscape for the average Russian. This raises concerns about the accuracy of inflation and other economic statistics in Russia, with analysts questioning whether methodological adjustments, rather than genuine economic progress, are at play. The mistrust of Russian official economic data in expert circles, exacerbated by the current political climate, adds another layer of complexity to the issue.
