Soviet-era shadow resurfaces as Russians resort to stealing
As Russia faces shortages of certain goods due to the Ukraine conflict, some Russians feel compelled to commit small thefts, with butter becoming one of the rarest and most stolen items.
This trend has caught the government’s attention, especially as Vladimir Putin has acknowledged that the country is suffering economically under sanctions imposed on Russia for more than two years.
Anton Gerashchenko, a former Ukrainian government adviser, shared a video on X showing a Russian caught on camera stealing butter from a supermarket.
Supermarkets in major Russian cities, including Moscow, have been forced to implement anti-theft measures, placing butter in plastic or glass lockboxes.
Anton Gerashchenko wrote on the social media: "Russian Telegram channels report that two men robbed a supermarket in Moscow of 25 packs of butter. An employee tried to stop them, but then one of the men pulled out a knife. Police have already detained two suspects, they are 29 and 25 years old. A criminal case was opened. The men face up to 10 years in prison."
In another X post, he wrote: "Until 2022, butter was supplied to Russia from all over the world, but then imports decreased by 10 times - from 40 to 4 thousand tons. After 2022, only Belarus remained as a supplier of butter to the Russian market, and it is not able to fully meet the demand, although its goods make up 15% of all Russian dairy products."
(QG - Source : Newsweek / Picture: © Pixabay)