Inga stands with 🇺🇦🇵🇸 on Nostr: npub1zdp33…2vqv8 npub1x29fy…5vn9n npub1traay…wnpqw grocery shopping landscape ...
npub1zdp33shl69xr0uq3x8n5gsjykq9upycwh6nqm02c3f6x0frrn0dq42vqv8 (npub1zdp…vqv8) npub1x29fy8vh7278zpz02vnhugs5fqfcxk9j2uty7fpmtqu3z4w6ndlsm5vn9n (npub1x29…vn9n) npub1traay5jdde50ps7y3mqdullw29a0pncqsg9vy637c8x7uyrwnvsq0wnpqw (npub1tra…npqw) grocery shopping landscape in major Russian cities is dominated by chain supermarkets of varying degree of fanciness. There is not a huge lot of difference between Moscow and, say, Yekaterinburg.
Medium-size supermarkets were comparable to a typical chain non-discounter supermarket in Germany ten years ago; large ones, comparable to what is usually called a "hypermarket" in Germany or France or Spain; smaller ones, worse than your typical local discounter supermarket (like Lidl or Aldi) in Germany. With sanctions and inflation, these Russian supermarkets became worse and more expensive; but with recent inflation in EU, the prices roughly leveled out, while the selection is still much worse in Russia, on average (disregarding regional differences; it is expected that you won't see Sauerkraut in Russian supermarket or Kvas in German one).
There is also a Russian-wide chain of organic grocery stores (which includes two stores in Kostroma), but I'd say it's worse than similar chains in Germany.
Moscow and St. Petersburg also have two upscale chains, but once again, they're comparable to, say, REWE chain in Germany (or were comparable, before the sanctions).
The above (plus groceries delivery) covers where 99% of middle class or upper middle class in Moscow get their groceries.
In Moscow, there are also some elite non-chain stores where elite's housekeepers and cooks probably get groceries for them, idk, I'm not really sure where they get their food.
I wouldn't expect supermarket prices in Kostroma to be noticeably cheaper than in Moscow; if anything, they're likely to be a bit higher.
Medium-size supermarkets were comparable to a typical chain non-discounter supermarket in Germany ten years ago; large ones, comparable to what is usually called a "hypermarket" in Germany or France or Spain; smaller ones, worse than your typical local discounter supermarket (like Lidl or Aldi) in Germany. With sanctions and inflation, these Russian supermarkets became worse and more expensive; but with recent inflation in EU, the prices roughly leveled out, while the selection is still much worse in Russia, on average (disregarding regional differences; it is expected that you won't see Sauerkraut in Russian supermarket or Kvas in German one).
There is also a Russian-wide chain of organic grocery stores (which includes two stores in Kostroma), but I'd say it's worse than similar chains in Germany.
Moscow and St. Petersburg also have two upscale chains, but once again, they're comparable to, say, REWE chain in Germany (or were comparable, before the sanctions).
The above (plus groceries delivery) covers where 99% of middle class or upper middle class in Moscow get their groceries.
In Moscow, there are also some elite non-chain stores where elite's housekeepers and cooks probably get groceries for them, idk, I'm not really sure where they get their food.
I wouldn't expect supermarket prices in Kostroma to be noticeably cheaper than in Moscow; if anything, they're likely to be a bit higher.