While butter has become the latest symbol of Russia’s inflation woes, other prices are rising even faster. Potato prices are up 50pc and garlic has risen by 30pc.
The price of toothpaste is up 45pc, while car prices are also up by more than 40pc, according to Russian central bank data.
By contrast, the price of buckwheat, a Russian staple, has fallen 30pc since Russia’s invasion, providing some respite for families.
There are also signs that food scarcity is having a wider impact.
Analysis published by Russia’s central bank shows that in the year to September, the fastest inflation recorded was for the medication Bisacodyl, prices have more than doubled over the past year. The drug is commonly used as a laxative to treat constipation.
It is not the first time the price of butter has proved to be a politically charged issue. Historical butter shortages have hit the headlines in other countries, including in Norway in 2011 and France in 2017.
In both cases, a desire to protect the domestic market or fix prices backfired when bad weather resulted in shortages.
This led to “smør-panik”, or butter panic, in Norway as prices shot up above £30 and what was dubbed a “crise de beurre” in France as producers chose to export their supplies rather than sell them at the cheaper, fixed prices, leading to empty shelves.
