The federal Russian government will increase minimum wages and pensions from June 1 as it seeks to counter the effects of double-digit inflation closely linked to Western sanctions. Inflation in Russia stood at an annual 17.83 percent in April, according to official statistics, and 1.14 percent on a monthly basis. The United States, the UK, and the European Union have all imposed sanctions on Russia and Russian citizens and entities, and while some of these are largely symbolic, such as banning high-ranking officials from traveling to certain countries, others have directly targeted Russia’s economy. A host of Western companies have left as a result of the sanctions as well as due to reputational pressure, contributing to the adverse effect of the sanctions on Russia. Yet this effect doesn’t seem to be as severe as the authors of the sanctions might have hoped it would be. A recent Financial Times […]