Are you feeling the crisis?

[peacetraveler22]

We see the word "crisis" constantly thrown around in text and news articles, but I want to know the reality of the situation for the average person living in Russia. I understand almost nothing about the financial markets, and my investments are all handled by stockbrokers with expertise in the area. Yet I go to the gas station each week and see the gas prices continually drop, which is great for me given that I commute a very long distance to work now. Travel is also less costly with the strength of the dollar, whereas many Russian friends no longer can afford to go abroad due to the continual decrease in the ruble. So, are all of these stories on LJ simply written by alarmists and pessimists, or do you feel there's a real crisis now in Russia as a result of sanctions and economics, which dramatically impacts your life? If so, in what way? Do you have hope for improvement in 2016?

Comments

[peacetraveler22.livejournal.com]

In what way is this crisis different from others in Russian history? Seems like the history of the country is rather cyclical.

[el-loko.livejournal.com]

History is repeating, but my life is too short to compare.
From my point of view, now we are at the end of putin's "era of well-being".
That crisis is not similar with 1989 or 1998, but the game of "sale oil, well-being, low freedom level" is over.