Kaliningrad to reintroduce food cards for low‑income residents in 2025
In the Kaliningrad region, food cards for low-income individuals will be reintroduced in 2025, reported the Kremlin-independent "The Moscow Times," citing the governor of the region. "There are groups that basically cannot afford to shop today," admitted Alexey Besprozvannykh.
14 December 2024 09:18
The governor of the Kaliningrad region, Alexey Besprozvannykh, announced on Thursday that food cards will be reinstated in the region starting in 2025. The programme is aimed at low-income individuals, including retirees and large families. Food cards were temporarily in effect in the Russian enclave on the border with Poland in 2022, just after Russia launched its full-scale war in Ukraine.
"The Moscow Times" notes that at the end of 2023, as much as 10% of the approximately one million population of the Russian region by the Polish border was living below the subsistence minimum.
Russia restores food cards in Kaliningrad
– We will stop price increases, but even at the current product costs, there are groups that basically cannot afford to shop today. While there are sectors where wages are rising significantly, in others they are rising to a lesser extent – Alexey Besprozvannykh explained the decision.
The governor emphasised that food cards will be primarily available for retirees and pensioners with incomes below the social minimum. "The Moscow Times" also quotes the governor's spokesperson, who announced that the list of beneficiaries of the food card programme might be expanded. – We will prepare proposals – stated Mariam Bashkirova, the spokeswoman for the governor of Kaliningrad.
In 2022, food cards in the Kaliningrad region were available from April to July. Holders could receive products worth a total of RUB 6,000 (approximately £46).
Kaliningrad lags behind the Russian national average
Despite its western location and proximity to Poland and Lithuania, the Kaliningrad region ranks only 66th in Russia in terms of per capita income. The average annual salary is just under RUB 66,000 (approximately £506), which is significantly below the national average (over RUB 84,000 - approximately £645).
At the end of November, we reported that Russia has firmly plunged into an economic downturn. There was an actual collapse of the rouble against the dollar, and the central bank is forced to maintain high interest rates to contain inflationary pressure and stabilise the economy. Interest rates are at 20%, and inflation reaches 8.5%. Ukrainian special services assess that 2025 will be a critical year for Russia's financial resources.
