Russia has certainly had an interesting year, kicking things off with the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. If you don’t remember, things didn’t exactly go as planned. We even put together a survival guide for the journalists who braved Sochi’s half-finished hotels. If anything we’ll probably remember them as the Olympics when Tinder took off amongst the athletes staying in the Olympic Village. Those good times are over, as they are in Russia, which seemed to bounce from one catastrophe to another in 2014.
How’s 2015 looking? Not so hot. On the heels of the collapse in oil prices and the ruble, inflation has begun to set in. While the wealthy may be trying to stash their cash in the form of Porches and Lexus SUVs, the average citizens are just trying to get by. According to CNN, the government is intervening in the vodka market:
The state agency that regulates the alcohol market said this month that it will slash vodka prices in February by about 16%.
The price cut marks a reversal for Russian policy makers, who have tried to discourage excessive drinking by hiking alcohol taxes, banning advertising and introducing new, restrictive regulations over the past few years.
But now inflation in Russia is near 10%, the ruble has fallen by more than 40% this year and the economy is shrinking — and cheaper vodka just might take the edge off.
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