Back to the lean years
Economic troubles have sucked the air out of Russia's nationalistic euphoria
AS THE rouble fell off a cliff over the past two days, a new skit appeared on Russian state television. A popular talk-show host asks his iPhone's voice-recognition app, “Where shall I go on holidays next year?” “This year—nowhere,” answers the app, dubbed “OK Rouble”. “OK Rouble, what will the exchange rate be tomorrow?” continues the host. “Here are five recipes for making porridge,” the app responds. Even as Russians were sharing the skit on social networks, Apple suspended its online store in Russia due to the rouble's volatility.
Russia's dawning currency crisis has already produced a rich folklore, reawakening the survival instincts that Russians developed to cope with Soviet-era shortages, the hyperinflation of the early 1990s, and the devaluation of 1998. Russians are rushing to spend their roubles while they are still worth something, buying foreign currency, jewellery and electronics. The less well-to-do have stocked up on oil, grain and soap. Russian bureaux de change have placed orders for electronic signs with three digits before the decimal point, preparing for rouble-euro exchange rates above 100.
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