Putin’s Warped Wartime Economy, as Seen Through a Carton of Eggs

For a microcosm of how the war in Ukraine has warped Russia’s economy, look no further than a carton of eggs.

The grocery staple has been in short supply in recent months and prices have skyrocketed, prompting Russians from Belgorod to Siberia to form lines reminiscent of Soviet times. President Vladimir Putin has publicly apologized, blaming the egg shock on the government. Last month, a poultry-farm boss known as “the Egg King” survived an assassination attempt shortly after authorities started investigating his farm due to high prices.

Behind the soaring price tag—up around 60% in December from a year earlier, according to data released Friday—is a convergence of factors symptomatic of the economy’s travails.

After Putin pinned the egg-price shock on the government, saying it didn’t secure enough imports in time, authorities sprung into action. Russia boosted egg orders from Turkey, Belarus and Azerbaijan and removed import duties on the product. The Ministry of Economy didn’t respond to a request for further comment.

Authorities also launched antitrust investigations into egg and chicken producers, including the Tretyakovskaya poultry farm in the Voronezh region, owned by Gennady Shiryaev, the Egg King. On Dec. 27, after news of the probe became public, a shooter fired at least twice on Shiryaev’s Volkswagen SUV, though Shiryaev escaped unscathed. The Tretyakovskaya poultry farm didn’t respond to a request for comment.

You think our issues are over? Lol. It just took a break. 2024 is going to be epic. I don’t worry or take pride about the egg prices in Russia. The group here that get their erections over bad things happening elsewhere are just sad. Our country has been stolen and we are getting parted out for the benefit of the few. They are about done and what remains is headed to the compactor. But heck, cheer on egg prices in Russia.

You know very well this is not just about egg prices, and our issues here are not simply about aiding Ukraine.
Your use of erection takes the valid parts of your argument and diminishes them.
We will most likely disagree on Ukraine, but my desire to see Ukraine remain a whole country and culture, and that Putin is responsible for this is my position.

The egg thing, the heating thing, the emptying of prisons to feed the front, getting weapons from nk, iran, and most likely China and others is a symptom of what Putin is putting the world through, and I don’t believe that letting this aggression go unchecked will lead to a better world let alone a better US. It will not solve problems here, it will not secure our borders, it will not make our cities safe. What it will do is repeat the mistakes we made with another dictator.

We can walk and chew gum, the Ukrainians are not asking for our sons and daughters, mothers and fathers as others we choose to “help “ did

You are passionate, that is good, and so am I. To be clear I served for almost forty years, I have been all around the world including southern border duty. Iraq, Afghanistan, and most of the Middle East and many other places, seem the good the bad, and the horrible. So I don’t take my position not lightly, it cannot be expressed with a meme, it is thoughtful and deliberate..

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.