For many Russians, higher utility bills are latest inflation shock

Moscow – In the Russian capital Moscow, history teacher Polina Ibragimova was shocked when a utility bill arrived that amounted to more than half her monthly pay. At first, the 34-year-old mother of two thought her children must have spent too long splashing around in a steaming bath. Then she read the bill line by line and discovered the real culprit: a sharp increase in utility tariffs.

The rise in utility bills comes as Russia grapples with inflation fueled by a wartime economy, with a tight labor market and higher military spending adding to price pressures. For households such as Ibragimova’s, those strains are increasingly visible in monthly bills and day-to-day expenses.