In russia, the Cost of a Basket of Vegetables Is Rising Twelve Times Faster than the Official Inflation Rate

Over a six-month period, from December 2025 to June 2026, the cost of a basic basket of vegetables in the regions of the rf rose by 56%. It is telling that the very term used in russia to refer to this set of products derives from borscht, a dish that the whole world recognizes as Ukrainian, and which russia has been trying for years to claim as its own, even at the level of culinary terminology. Now, the very same country that lays claim to another nation’s cultural heritage is unable to provide its own citizens with affordable cabbage and beets for this dish. By comparison, the country’s official inflation rate for the same period was only 4.64%. In other words, prices for potatoes, cabbage, beets, carrots, and onions rose 12 times faster than all other goods and services combined.

Vegetables are most expensive in chukotka. In June, the basket there cost 1,675 rubles, which is five times more than the national average. The situation is not much better in yakutia, where the basket cost 681 rubles, or in kamchatka where it cost 629 rubles.

Looking at individual products, cabbage saw the sharpest price increase over the past six months, having risen from 34 to 58 rubles per kilogram – a 70% increase. Potatoes rose in price by nearly the same amount, from 43 to 73 rubles – a 69% increase. Carrots rose in price by 52%, onions – by 49%, and beets – by 42%. Overall, the average price of a basket of potatoes, cabbage, onions, beets, and carrots across russia rose from 205 to 320 rubles.

samara region set an absolute record for the rate of price increases, with the basket’s price having risen by 97%, from 159 to 312 rubles. Next go moscow region with a 93% increase, bryansk region with 92%, mari el with 89%, ulyanovsk region with 86%, and penza region with 84%. These are not some remote, depressed outposts, but regions in the central part of the country, including the area surrounding moscow itself.

Even in moscow and st. petersburg, which are traditionally considered showcases of the rf’s prosperity, prices rose significantly. In moscow, the basket rose by 76%, from 211 to 370 rubles. In st. petersburg, the increase was 64%.

In July, the trend continues. According to rosstat’s weekly monitoring, since the beginning of the month, beets have risen in price by another 4.8%, cabbage – by 3.1%, and potatoes – by 2.8%.