Moscow urged to raise vodka prices

Vodka prices in Russia are on track to rise to keep pace with wartime inflation. Producers of the Russian staple are urging the Kremlin to adjust prices to address higher taxes and import costs, The Telegraph reported, which would raise the price of a half-liter bottle from about $3 to $3.60. Despite Western sanctions, Russia’s economy has shown surprising resilience since its invasion of Ukraine — largely because of massive military spending.

But “this war addiction is Moscow’s key financial vulnerability,” Reuters wrote, and inflation remains a longer-term challenge. The country is also seeing “signs of cooling domestic demand,” Russia’s central bank said recently. A combination of rising inflation and slowing GDP are ingredients for stagflation, Business Insider wrote.