I Tried Grocery Shopping for $2 in Russia (AGAIN!)

[@NikiProshin]

Next time I gotta set a higher budget and do some cooking. Usually I spend 5-10 dollars a day for groceries, and never buy the cheapest stuff that you see in this video (it's not healthy at all) ps. Don't forget to sub and like!

[@ME-bk8ou]

Hey Niki, I have for sure missunderstood this part of the video, or are you telling me, that you just get 2$ a month from youtube for all that work?

[@vlasenica18]

Try to make a video with products which you need for your daily life and show us their prices, must not be something luxus just the regular things you use. Would be nice to see what it cost and to compare to our countries.

[@dianeandbrad529]

@@ME-bk8ou the video waa $2 for one day of meals. (not one month)

[@Amped4Life]

@Niki - I laughed out loud - alone at my house - when you said "This one is very delicious; this one is very suspicious" 🤣😂

[@williammckenna5952]

I would be interested in seeing prices in terms of hours worked. For example, I can buy a men's collared shirt with about one hour's labor. How long does the average Russian need to work to afford milk, vegetables, etc.

[@GreenBarb1]

Remember the first time I went to Russia, 1 euro was 72 rubles after that it went down to 42 rubles. Love shashlik, brought spices back to Ireland 🇮🇪 to cook here. Love the updates.

[@MrKogline]

You showed previous prices, previous goods, and when you bought them. Thumbs up for quality of information. Keep that up.

[@elektrotehnik94]

The best part of this video - it's clear you haven't put your own biases into the comparison, showed the situation product by product. Your journalism is worth its weight in gold.

[@ichifish]

Niki, don't turn your nose up at those "dirty" vegetables! The environmental cost of presenting "beautiful," "perfect" produce is high! It's better to accept the slightly tarnished ones and clean them up yourself. They're probably healthier as well.

[@floridastitcher1]

I’d rather grow my own. Don’t feel good about those carrots. But if things get desperate we have to eat what we can get.

[@sakinoru4557]

The issue with the "dirty" ones is that they're often also partially... unedible, let's call it that, meaning there's also more waste than from the clean ones. Essentially, there's little to no economy in buying vegetables that weren't washed/sorted. As for "healthier"... uhhm, food quality in Russia is kinda low in general, so I doubt that there's a noticeable difference between the two, if any at all. * Coming from Russian.

[@chopperaxon6171]

Some of those spuds were green. Pointless buying as you have to cut off big chunks of green or risk solanine poisoning.

[@andriytroyan3888]

All ugly vegetables are also used for cattle and to make processed food. If it is bough by people then all supplies will become more expensive due to demand. Buy nice ones and ugly ones for the existing demand. Those environmental “problems” fail to see the whole picture

[@happines3511]

@@sakinoru4557 food quality in Russia is low, are you serious? ))

[@pygmyowl]

I lived in Petersburg 30 years ago for two years, just after the fall of the Soviet Union. Much as it must be difficult to afford these price increases, the diversity and availability of these products is leagues and leagues better than it was back then. Some of the products are the same -- those old конфетки, the generic vegetables, the milk, etc -- but many are so new and different that to anybody my age who remembers what life was like in Leningrad in the eighties, it's hard to imagine that the sanctions really signal the same kind of isolation. We used to shop in the рынок and negotiate for potatoes and кефир. I would love to see you speak with your parents or some other middle-aged folks 50-60 years old about how the sanctions look to them, particularly given their memories of life in the eighties. In other words, I think price isn't telling the whole story here, and while it's probably very difficult for pensioners on a set, small salary, for those folks who came of age just after the fall of the Soviet Union, it maybe looks a little different.

[@doriantietz2222]

Thanks for taking the time to share that! :)

[@Writeous0ne]

from what i've seen the sanctions have barely made a difference to everyday life in RUssia. in my country we had price rises similar to these without sanctions...

[@ViciousFurstin]

I am from Canada and I find your videos very interesting and very instructive. It was nice seing what the market/food packaging looks like in Russia.

[@TheShadowOfZama]

This was a very good video. Loved how you compared the prices of the past to the present times and gave us a tour. Nice supermarket by the way. Also you have a great sense of humour. I laughed my ass off at the end when you said "this one is very delicious, this one is very suspicious..."

[@dongato3161]

what I see is that in russia things are cheaper than in europe and in my country.

[@Panbaneesha]

Whenever your hand is in the picture, it reminds me of playing Oblivion, like my character is about to do a spell on the vegetables. ;) I just love that. And of course that you're providing us with some insight into Russian life nowadays. Please take good care of yourself, greetings from Germany. PS: I read somewhere the reason that things are getting more expensive despite the Rubel's exchange rate is that the Rubel is being propped up artificially.

[@NikiProshin]

Aha, next time I'll be thinking I'm a Skyrim character when I film my hands like that :) I played more Skyrim than Oblivion, much more

[@devrusso]

The ruble price only affects imports. Pretty much why the iphone price is back to pre-february levels. The rise in prices is food is a combination of logistics problems + global recession that were experiencing rn.

[@dianaa4149]

This was great!!! Very helpful to help us understand what the prices are like. Loved that you were able to compare each product you bought in the video of five months ago to now. The bar charts on each product were very helpful for those of us math challenged folks. 😉. And then, after your might efforts to try and find 3 meals for one day on the same budget, we could really see how it just couldn’t really be done.

[@GR8TDUCK]

Ummm... Yeah. A "paradise" where you get arrested for dissenting from Gov. opinions.

[@hamamotodesigns]

I recently discovered his channel after wanting to know what was going on in Russia cause of the war. I like his channel the best, seems like a nice guy, keep up the good work

[@CarlaCorc]

You may want to try for $14USD a week, so you can buy the flour, and larger quantities to save money by buying in bulk, and hopefully adding some more flavors.

[@c8Lorraine1]

Great idea. I buy in bulk when shopping for groceries here in my country, Australia. AU$0.69 - US$1.00

[@Time4Technology]

It's sooo cool they sell unwashed, unpackaged/loose vegetables there! I think of them being dirty as being a quality seal.

[@michaeldamours1156]

This is an impressive supermarket! Similar to our Costco or Sam's club. Great video. Thank you!

[@shaneepaige3989]

Love these videos, thank you for your time and efforts. Food is definitely on the rise everywhere. I bought literally 4-5 junk items the other day and spent $30.... chips and dip. Freaking crazy.

[@Fanaz10]

well so called junk food has increased in price the most

[@_Sonia.S]

Was it at Trader Joe's?

[@Chimel31]

@@_Sonia.S Or Whole Foods. 😁

[@TheGamingCanadian]

I went to Superstore and bought the same thing but I bought from a brand called “No name” the same thing costed me a little over 10 dollars. Interesting…

[@shaneepaige3989]

@@TheGamingCanadian yeah unfortunately that was not the case here nor have I heard of that brand in this part of North America. The tostidos chips and their dips were $5-$6 a piece and then the few veggie items I bought rounded out the rest, with taxes. And this was at Walmart.

[@deekearney7380]

Niki, I love your videos! I am new to your KZbin Channel and so happy I found it. I used to have a pen pal from Murmansk (Mypmahck) Russia back in the mid 1990's and we learned so much about our two countries at that time. Thank you so much for sharing your videos! Dee from the USA (Pennsylvania)

[@arihahyar4409]

Great story telling Nikki ---- In shines on three levels - Your personal experience - The Russian experience. - and our universal encounter with buying food and balancing budgets with personal taste.

[@antonypalmer5804]

Thanks for sharing. I think that this situation is having an effect on just about every country in the world

[@ajbent1]

That suspcious drink would probably cost $5 in the US at supermarket. Prepared foods have a huge markup here.

[@hoodoo2001]

But salaries are a lot higher in the US.

[@thundereagle4130]

The minumum salary in Russia is 15000 rubles, aka $200 and a average salary in Russia is around 60000 rubles, aka $800. I find it pretty expansive considering what people are earning in Russia.

[@Ficus-religiosa]

@@thundereagle4130 I think it's incorrect to count minimum salary in Russia, but it would be correct to count minimus salary in a city where food is bought, because prices and salaries are different according to the city

[@VarietyGamerChannel]

@@hoodoo2001 And home ownership in Russia is much higher than in the US (85% vs 35%). No mortgage even, no rent. You can safely eliminate 30-40% of US monthly income due to rent or mortgage repayments and even more when you consider health insurance or cost of healthcare even with insurance.

[@evl1536]

@@VarietyGamerChannel Interesting fact: 60% of bankrupts in the US went bankrupt due to the inability to pay for medical care.

[@TravelingSoloLogs]

Great video, I love watching your videos about Russia it's very informative 😃

[@t.k3025]

Yes, to see them still thriving while Russia destroys Ukraine. I would love his opinion on the grain food crisis as he shops for cool smoothies.

[@jackli7873]

@@t.k3025 Europe and the United States are inciting this Russia-Ukraine conflict, for them Ukraine is just a pawn to weaken Russia, as the Irish mp Clare Daly said, the EU is just pretending to sympathize with Ukraine

[@internetw4nk3r74]

You know, even after price increase, so many of those products are still cheaper than the prices we have here in asia. And to consider the whole lot of varieties and options you have, you are living in a paradise there. What a great country.

[@buc991]

Where are you from in Asia i wonder? Anyways Russia is far from paradise, it’s not even cheap, because there are much cheaper countries like Turkey or Georgia or many more. But also quality of products is so bad, I didn’t even knew until i moved from Russia. Like no control of components or quality whatsoever. And for variety it will not last long as we know historically with this closed countries. And I don’t even talk about other stuff like dictator, repressions, wars, worst climate all year long. So yeah it’s actually opposite of paradise.

[@danielboone6010]

Niki well done once again for your straight up honest reporting on daily life ,its so refreshing to get away from the sad things going on around the world,i think that you represent the local russian community very well showing us all that life goes on and we must get along no matter where we are from ,god bless u niki,again well done mate🙏👌you are well loved in the uk,,💕💕

[@billyfarrington374]

What I found quite interesting is that similar products here in the US still cost more than they do over there - even with the sanctions.

[@djneverblock7300]

yeah but that is not related to the product itself. it is about what the companies want to sell it to you for. they calculate general income and do the pricing from there. i dont know if taxes are even there on food etc in the us but i would think so that there are higher import taxes for alot of stuff and that production of local goods is more expensive cause of the higher prices for production sites etc. in germany its the same even tho some products like oatmeal are way cheaper. additionally we pay 19% tax on anything we buy in a supermarket even tho that is not 100% put on the customer since companies sometimes discount some stuff and pay a part of the 19% for the products to be cheaper and therefore sell in higher numbers.

[@djneverblock7300]

and if you go straight by sanctions alot of stuff wouldnt even be there in russia but hello globalization companies just export to russia anyways xD

[@paul1979uk2000]

That's more related to wages in a country and what consumers can afford, in a richer country in the west, goods tend to cost more because we have more money compared to say Russia, basically, companies will charge consumers what they think they can get away with in any country. The real interesting thing is how much has prices gone up over the last 6 or so months with everything going on and how that is impacting people. There are other factors when it comes to the shelf price, are taxes included in the price like in the EU they are whereas in the US they're not, not sure what system Russia uses.

[@s1ubbe]

Hush now, that sounds like prorussia propaganda ;)

[@tomk3732]

Note this is a very nice supermarket in one of the most expensive cities on earth. Most Russians do not pay even close to this much for food.

[@annafromrussia]

I have cooked for 2 person for one day just for 130 rub like two dollars 😄😄😄 you can check it out 😃

[@soapygirraph]

Didn’t think I would get hooked on your videos! I’m glad it was recommended to me hope all is going good and a “hello!” From America. Conflict sucks I hope we can all go back to normal very soon! :) keep up the good work!

[@BSGSV]

Spirulina (that green drink) is an algae that is considered a superfood. I bought a bag of spirulina powder when I was trying to get healthy and make protein smoothies at home. It is not supposed to taste very good. But it was just too much work and I ended up ignoring it and eating ice cream instead.

[@timelordmagnums357]

When I lived in Pensacola Florida they had a huge warehouse like that. Although we have some huge warehouse chains locally it isn't quite the same.

[@artista49]

The size of this supermarket and the variety of food blows my mind. 🤣 I would never go shopping there. Just to buy eggs and butter takes ages to decide which and the walking distances from one product on the lost to the next is enormous, especially if you don‘t know where everything is 🫢 Interesting Video Niki.

[@alcoholfree6381]

You must be a bit older and wiser now, like me. I bet you love living though. Yeah, that is a gigantic store. Made me dizzy 🥴

[@PerryCuda]

To be fair, this is not a typical grocery store in Russia. IN the center there are basically 3 types of stores - a neighborhood mom-and-pop convenience store (usually in the corner of your apt. bld) - milk and eggs, reasonably priced proximity stores Pyaterochka (in house discount brands) and Perekrestok, and premium stores Azbuka Vkus and Globus - real expensive. There's also mall anchors like Auchan. To be honest, grocery shopping in Moscow was one of the worst experiences in my life. Just humiliating.

[@dothetwist298]

lmao, you need to do the walking to be healthy dude.

[@artista49]

@@PerryCuda I prefer small stores that have basically everything of good quality but not dozens of brands of the same. I hat shopping and want to get it done quickly without having to read lots of labels first 🤣

[@artista49]

@@dothetwist298 Ha but getting hungry from walking in a supermarket might end up with buying a lot of junk food , not exactly the healthiest exercise 🤣

[@IntegralBlinds]

Food prices along with all prices in the Uk are getting quite high also. But it is worth it.

[@jchristif]

It’s ok niki, groceries are more expensive here too! Inflation is everywhere. That green drink looked good 😋

[@davidwilson2394]

Same thing is happening everywhere though out the world. Great video

[@garyburgmylifeandtimes6354]

I really enjoyed you challenge video. You tried very hard. Your videos are very enjoyable and a lighter side of things happening with Russia. Thanks for sharing

[@simonroberts7891]

Hi Niki, love your videos. One thing that we didn't see was if the sizes of those items were the same as before. I have read that often prices stay the same but the pack size becomes smaller.

[@lingfongchung2]

Thanks for working so hard to make all the price comparisons!

[@CyReVolt]

Marinated meat is also very common here in Germany and popular for BBQs.

[@theshowmanuk]

This is really useful as I can practise reading Russian names quite quickly now.

[@MausTheGerman]

3 years ago I was in St. Petersburg. I‘m from Germany and I was surprised that in the supermarkets in Russia nearly everything was more expensive compared to Germany. Guessed everything would be much cheaper in Russia because average job salary is nearly 10 times less compared to Germany. Would be interesting to know how the situation is right now.

[@lahvancz]

You do not have to go that far. Many things in my country (Czech) are more expensive and often of worse quality than in Germany.

[@Fl4ngerr]

watch until the end, he says it

[@MausTheGerman]

@@Fl4ngerr Yeah. I wrote my comment before the video went live 😀

[@TheRagingPlatypus]

When I moved to Germany, I was stunned by the low food prices.

[@wookie2222]

@@TheRagingPlatypus Yeah, but our housing rents are quite high. Me and my GF pay about 50-60% of our income for our rent, electricity, gas and water supply.

[@melanielablanc-mann1442]

I love watching you your English is so great!!

[@mlrodrigu2003]

Awesome chronicle Niki.. thanks for the insights. Seems there are side-effects that are not that obvious, a thing that I noticed, the "inflation package" effect, there are smaller packages of a product that used to be standard weigth. for example, butter.. used to be 200gr. now it is 140gr.. but the price is higher or the same.. Keep doing the excelent job you are doing and stay safe before anything else. Greetings from Costa Rica/Central America!

[@Julie-bq6iz]

Hi Niki! Here in the usa rice and beans is a cheap bulk recipe. Rice is cheap (the bigger the bag, the better the price.) The one pound bag of beans are dry and are soaked, then cooked. Onion and garlic can be added for extra flavor. Salt and pepper too. You would be eating this for breakfast, lunch, and dinner because this makes a lot. It's carbs and protein and would keep you full.

[@montyollie]

YAY I'm so glad you did this video! The old video was how I found your channel and I was the subscriber who suggested you redo it in the live when you were walking around St. Petersburg! I'm so glad you did it! So sad that you couldn't make it work though. I have been tempted to try this in Canada, but it's SO expensive here, but POSSIBLE as we have a store called "Bulk Barn" where you can buy foods by the gram, aka one tea bag and stuff like that. I might try it for my own channel soon.

[@NikiProshin]

Next time I gotta set a higher budget and do actual cooking! In some stores in Russia I also can buy foods by grams, but the sellers will be really confused to hear if I want to get less than 100g of anything 😁

[@an-an]

Wow. Some products are quite cheap - but on the other hand, some things are relatively expensive. You also have to consider the average income in Russia. If you take this into account, some foods are very expensive. Especially if you have to buy for a family of several people.

[@koilamaoh4238]

yea like to see something that matches up with the average russian monthly wage for average job. like how much do they have usually to spare? amount. In the USA, you could have 100$-300$ if you are single perhaps; for a months worth of food, depending on what you get. I spend about $150-$300~ A month on food. My spare amount for food is about 200-300 at most.

[@soulharm5532]

@Grim FPV that's not true, if you think about people in the province who earn like 15000 rubles.

[@soulharm5532]

@909FirelightElaughter most are poor, we're not talking about middle class minority here.

[@paddington1670]

When people in your country are making a 10th of the income as the average Westerner, the food needs to be equivalent to a 10th the price. Cheap? no. low income.

[@stirlinguvstroj]

🤷 cry me a river... If Russia spent less time on terrorizing everyone in their sight and more time on improving their disfunctional ... well ... everything, then maybe the prices would go down.

[@stephennewton2777]

I’ve never understood Russians’ fixation with the $ exchange rate since February. Surely what’s relevant is what you can buy with with the Ruble as this is it’s true value.

[@ItsaRomethingeveryday]

Despite all that is happening, I'd still love to visit your country, it has always been the one place that I've been curious to know more about, Liked the vid, Take care and Staysafe

[@svetllama]

i bought a headband like yours because i liked how your headband looked - you truly are an influencer!

[@portfedh]

Very interesting video! I think we have the same food inflation here in Mexico. Crazy stuff

[@wendybrown5935]

This is so interesting to see so much of your supermarket and the different products, the current situation is certainly teaching us to shop in different nt ways and also how to economise on how to cook produce with the crippling fuel costs. I have purchased an air fryer which has changed my life! Not only cheaper to use but also the amount of time it saves being in the kitchen. Great vids, you are very good at explaining everything☺☺☺

[@poucine832]

I wonder what an air fryer is ?

[@mikhailmamontov2155]

I live in Brooklyn, New York, and I go to food stores almost everyday, I see prices rising constantly out of control because of inflation. I will not go to details, because food is not my major expense, but it is very sad to see. I probably spend for food now twice as before covid pandemic.

[@mikatu]

What do you mean food is not your major expense? Typical American, food is secondary! Food is the most important buy you do. Of course there are things more expensive, like rent and utilities, but food is the one you control the most and should be aware of all prices.

[@CastorRabbit]

Same as Australia

[@mikhailmamontov2155]

@@mikatu I pay for my health insurance $941 a month for only myself, and it does not cover a lot (when I go to the doctor with blood work I pay copay of another $50-70). I pay property taxes, income, federal, state, local taxes, utilities, for my car etc, driving fines, bridges and tunnels, gym membership, prescriptions, dining out. Living in New York City is not cheap. If I would pay extra $250-300 a month for food it would not make much difference with my income and expenses. And I am aware of food prices, they go up more than government says.

[@mikhailmamontov2155]

@@NoumenonAndPhenomenon I am healthy 55 plus, I buy (Obamacare) Metroplus Platinum in New York City for individual on NY state health exchange. In 2016 I paid for it $517 a month, now they want to raise prices for 2023. I only use my insurance for yearly physicals, I do not buy/fill any prescriptions with it. I am really scared about health insurance costs in the US until I reach 65 years old when I will be eligible for Medicare. The only thing about me is that I am self employed, and I do not want to work for somebody, and that would provide me with health plan. If I would have to pay for family health insurance I would be paying a lot, and I do not believe in medians, what politicians are promoting. In some states they sell insurance junk, that good only until you start using it.

[@mikhailmamontov2155]

@Kasper if Democrats say so I trust them. But how come chicken was .99 a pound and now is 2.99 a pound, jumbo eggs 2.50 for 12, and now 5.00 per dozen? Grandpa Biden knows best.

[@Avado123]

I don’t know why, but I totally love this channel

[@stevecam724]

Hi Niki, it is interesting to see how much international corporations have produced the universal shopping experience. Obviously there are local differences but this could be any Australian supermarket except for the low prices, there's not a lot you could get for $2USD here.

[@kiskafish7877]

Thank you that is a very impressive store, much different than I as a US citizen would have thought.

[@kieranderuyter3705]

Many of these items, especially in the original video, are actually cheaper than in my home country, New Zealand :/ Even the foods we make here (Dairy, Lamb etc.) are expensive since we mainly export them for money. Спасибо Ники, за отличное видео!

[@dongato3161]

and much cheaper than in my country... he wanted to badmouth Russia and ended up showing us that Russia is a more stable economy... with two dollars I can't even buy a loaf of bread.

[@Stoic9]

That store actually looks pretty amazing! Its kinda like our Walmart, except better. lol...

[@_Sonia.S]

This video was a lot of fun! Thank you! Also, as someone who doesn't like vegetable juices you made me laugh when you called it suspicious.🤣🙏

[@NikiProshin]

Honestly I didn't finish that 😅 was tasty in the beginning, and then I couldn't drink any more!

[@SuperLittleTyke]

@@NikiProshin I'm not surprised. It looked disgusting, and way overpriced.

[@_Sonia.S]

@@NikiProshin You did the right thing.🤣🙏👍

[@UAuaUAuaUA]

@@NikiProshin At this time of the year I stick to tasty fruits and ignore such stuff completely 😊😊😎

[@gerritfridericksohn4627]

IMHO leaving the the dirt on the potatoes and carrots allows them to story better. At least I believe so after a lifetime of organic gardening and farming.

[@agyos]

I think the green drink you purchased, may contain Spirulina, a type of algae which is considered a health food by some people, full of nutritional value. Thank you for you wonderful videos!

[@GRILL332]

This is the informational type reporting I love and started me watching your channel. Thanks.

[@acelee5732]

On the Snicker's the size is possible 10 % less. In 1930, when the Snickers candy bar was introduced, it weighed 2.5 ounces and cost a nickel. The price didn't change for nearly 40 years, but by the time it did, Snickers was down to a skinny 1.16 ounces -- less than half its original weight

[@doriantietz2222]

Doesn’t the package size not matter due to it being a kilo price?

[@nocapproductions5471]

@@doriantietz2222 only Russia and some other countries sell Snickers by kilo. In Europe and USA its sold by bar.

[@paddington1670]

@@nocapproductions5471 woah that's a cool factoid. That's pretty funny actually. Instead of passing the lack of quality control onto the customer, they just pay less for less mass, albeit not amounting to much at that cost, but the principle stands.

[@guritamarctiberiu1567]

Hello Niki, Romanian here (was anxious for this vid BTW, great job). Situation here in Romania is identical to the one in Russia. The price of gasoline got up by about 80%, the price of sunflower oil is about double, the price of sugar is about 50% up, the cheapest bread is about 80% more expensive, the price of canned food is up by about 40-50%, the price of meat is up by about 50-100% (depending on meat type, raw chicken wings for example were at the cheapest for about 6-7 Ron, now the cheapest are about 12-13 Ron), onion price doubled, potato price almost doubled, dairy products prices are up 20-50% depending on type, eggs price is up by about 20%. Some of these things will probably get cheaper once they are in the harvest period and after that but returning to the prices before will not happen. In the meantime official inflation is about 14%, make what you wish of this info, hope it helps you gain some perspective. Also compared to last spring in 2021 the prices for electricity and natural gas are about 5 times bigger.

[@davelawson2564]

But in Russia its 30% for same products he bought earlier

[@elektrotehnik94]

I seriously doubt those numbers are that high. Seriously. And I claim you also cherry-picked the things that went up in price, ignoring the things that stayed mostly the same. In Slovenia, I'd say OVERALL food inflation from before the war, for a typical household food budget, is around 15-20%. The thing that really differentiates us from Russia is the price of everything else has gone up a lot in Russia - while not a lot in the EU.

[@tomlee8404]

Similar situation in Germany

[@davelawson2564]

@@nssmirnov Who is selling cheaper to Russia ? ur Dad ? Lol

[@mowtow90]

@@elektrotehnik94 He is not cherry picking. Its the same in Bulgaria. The prices of food keept rising since Januarly with about 40%. The fresh frute and veg now started to drop as the local produce came to market. About the other stuff. The gov just removed the 20% VAT on basics like bread but instead of the price falling from 1,60-2.5 BGN to the normal 1 , it just remained the same. The produces stated that they will hold the price for a couple months but the prices for power and gas are about to rise again. Today went to the store to by besics and left 50 BGN (27 Euro) for nearly empty bag. Usually those stuff cost me 20. Also ,yes, my salary didnt rose a dime. In fact it become smaller because our worthless fincance minister levied new tax on me.

[@samadams7573]

The first thing that struck me about this video is the blue and yellow decor of the supermarket you showed. Weren't those colors banned, at least for a time because... well you know.

[@evl1536]

This is nonsense. Blue is still blue, and yellow is still yellow. In Russia, they would say that "you are pulling an owl on a globe." The flag of Ukraine is still the flag of Ukraine and any desecration of it is a desecration of the symbols of a foreign state. You can walk with the Ukrainian flag, you can talk in Ukrainian, we still sing and listen to Ukrainian songs, we still have Ukrainian restaurants open. You have a somewhat incorrect idea of the situation

[@ANIMshit]

@@evl1536 Ive seen videos from moskov wher people got beatup cuz they held Ukraine flag

[@evl1536]

@@ANIMshit Just for the flag? I'll never believe it. People just don't care, and in Moscow people don't care twice. Muscovites are very inert about this whole story. I'm willing to bet that either this is a falsification, or something else caused it.

[@paddington1670]

@@ANIMshit yeah that guy got beat up by holding a sign that said no war. That old holocaust survivor woman who makes art held up a sign in protest and got detained multiple times. Woman holding up a blank card got told off by russian Karens in the park. I think Ev L has the wrong impression of the situation. I double challenge you to go walk down the street with a Ukrainian flag and a sign that says no war. Dont forget to wear protective glasses and a helmet.

[@kennethpedersen335]

I love how that supermarket is in yellow and blue colours!

[@excitedbox5705]

Normally you don't shop for 1 day. If you buy a weeks worth of food for $14 you can easily make 21 meals. Since people don't usually shop for single days, packages are not made for single meals either, because it is wasteful and stupid. 2 packs of eggs, a lb of potatoes, onions, flour, cheese, meat, cabbage, will make at least half those meals. Between stir fries, soups, pancakes, pastas, pizzas, and pastries. I think I would even get a 5lb bag of flour because making your own pasta and bread takes seconds and literally costs half as much and tastes better.

[@jetv1471]

Now I am going to see how easy it would be for me to make my own pasta or bread 👍

[@airliners6430]

Another great video @niki proshin! I think you should do a series of similar videos at different grocery stores in St. Petersburg. I'd watch every one of them! Maybe different amounts ($5 or $10) at different stores. Love from Texas!

[@just4guitar558]

$2 MIGHT buy you 2 bottles of water in the US. Depending where you are, maybe just 1 bottle. A single loaf of Whole Grain bread is upwards of $4+….. just under 2 ltr of milk is $3 Sweets like candy bars are INSANELY expensive for what they are! I feel for you Niki, and I hope your YT funds are making their way thru the sanctions. Здоровья и счастья, друг!

[@maggnet4829]

Yep, while food is more expensive in dollar in the US, your income is a lot higher too. Shouldn't forget to mention this point if you compare.

[@Fanaz10]

yea, but americans also make like 10 times more

[@frankboyd.]

Our tap water is as good. 🇨🇦 Plastic bottles are bad for environment.

[@just4guitar558]

@@maggnet4829 It amazes me that people think the average person in the US has some sort of insane amount of expendable income. I guess that’ why there are so many ghetto’s and housing “projects” riddled all throughout the states. I suppose that’s why food banks run out of stuff to give before half of the lineup is even in sight of the volunteers. People got it all F’d up! About 20% of the US DOESN’T live paycheck to paycheck. The rest of us DO!

[@somamaczko2549]

Okay? Russian average salary is 1000$ while in the U.S is 4500$ It's more expensive for the average citizen in Russia.

[@011CJ]

Well I can tell you got a better camera since last time lol.i have never used eggs and flower without baking.I'm going to have to look this up now I'm interested . thanks for the vid

[@truealexia]

Also could you post some of those recipes to make food with just egg, flour and water.

[@pierre-olivierl5897]

Im watching your channel for this kind of video, good job thank you!

[@jrvilchis55]

I remember your old videos. Everything was cheaper but very cheaper than the US. Nowadays the prices are very similar.

[@alandickerson3379]

I liked this video, thank you!! It is interesting seeing your stores and the prices. You always do interesting videos!!

[@craiglarge5925]

Well consumer friends, I can assure you if your prices in Russia were like the stratospheric grocery prices out here in Honolulu, Hawaii; there would be another Russian Revolution. A loaf of really good bread is any where from $5 to $8.49 each or a gallon of milk is $5 to $8 per gallon dependent on store and brand.

[@craiglarge5925]

@@NoumenonAndPhenomenon Yes, as a matter of fact I do have a lemon tree and a tangerine tree both full of fruit in my front yard and my next door neighbor has a huge mango tree in their front yard. Price of sea food has been up lately I guess because the fishing boats run on diesel fuel which as gotten pricey.

[@craiglarge5925]

@@cobblerstones Granted they are a bit higher than in Russia, which I am very aware of.

[@ohyoucanread]

@@NoumenonAndPhenomenon tell us you've never been to hawai'i without telling us... the grocery stores most people have access too have expensive seafood and fruits, most of which aren't even local but shipped in adding to the price and forcing hawai'i into dependency. Before hawai'i was forcibly colonized, there was plentiful food grown and hunted locally. Now you pay $8 for 1 lbs of strawberries from mexico... and you're lucky if a couple times a year you get a bag of mangoes from a neighbour

[@BigBear59]

You always put in accurate information…Thanks for the update Niki …..Alex🇬🇷

[@greengorillah]

Thank you for the interesting video. In the Russian context I think it is perhaps better to use Ruble as a standard (or a percentage of the local minimum wage or pension) if you want to show what the effect for the Russian consumer is. Using USD you have unpredictable course fluctuations as well as the fact that what you can buy with a Dollar in the US changes over time as well. But I understand that translating it into round USD makes it easier to understand for an international audience as well. :-)

[@rodrigogonzalogallegosgaja9566]

Perfect! Video. Clever Niki !

[@bb5461]

Very interesting to see how your prices are getting higher for your food products, enjoyed watching, stay healthy and safe ❤️

[@glennmac5694]

Watched a few of these now and you are a great price hunter 🤑

[@jamesleibensperger6489]

Niki you are very blessed by God with great intelligence! The drink you said had sprilina in it? If it did that is like a seaweed type green food that contains good protein, and amino acids in it, and the candy bar did you say it had carob in it? If it had carob in it , that is used in the Middle East, and around the world as a cocoa substitute, and it does taste very good! Thanks for sharing, and sadly here in the U.S.A. our food prices are going up very fast, and this is hurting the poor, and middle class, and that is probably the same in Russia!! My Russian friend Irina works at my nursing home , and she loves Kasha, or toasted Buckwheat! It is great as a hot cereal, or making pancakes! Please take care, and looking for a better time ahead, and we all could learn to be kinder , and more forgiving of others! Pray for peace ! James from Emmaus, Pennsylvania

[@NikiProshin]

Thank you James! That thing in my drink was spirulina, it has quite weird taste imo. best wishes from Petersburg!

[@cathunter3874]

@@NikiProshin wildly good for you though

[@hardtackbeans9790]

Thanks Niki. Take care.

[@seanet1310]

Very interesting, thanka Niki. I wonder how this compares to countries with limited exposure to the war. I would have guessed costs would be worse in rubes In Australia on the other side of the world, prices have gone up a bit and we import almost nothing from Ukraine or Russia in terms of food stocks Fuel and fertiliser seam to be driving up costs around the glove.

[@JupiterMoon19]

Niki I like your hair! Thanks for another video. Glad you’re doing well.

[@SuperLittleTyke]

Those cheap eggs will be from battery chickens most probably. I do not understand why people cannot just make a broth from potatoes, onions and carrots. You could make enough to last at least two days. If a small piece of really cheap meat can be added, you get a lot of nutritional value.

[@paddington1670]

dont buy eggs from unhappy chickens, we should not be promoting bad farming processes, I dont care how prominent they are. I built an extension onto a chicken factory, the things ive seen man. Just buy eggs from happy chickens, pay more, the chickens thank you.

[@SuperLittleTyke]

@@paddington1670 i buy my eggs from a local lady who re-homes ex-battery chickens. These chickens still lay eggs and they quickly get used to going outdoors, as she has a large paddock. Within just a few weeks they have regrown lost feathers. The eggs are delicious. Often just one day old, sometimes laid the morning I buy them. She charges only £1 for six medium to large eggs.

[@norikadolmy7274]

Lol that guy that looked into the camera, hilarious

[@elizaluizezile]

Loved the video, I’m from Latvia and we have similar food. For the last few years I live abroad and I miss this (shown in the video) food so much!

[@armandomercado2248]

In the US we had spot shortages of random things like certain cuts of meat, peanut butter, ready to bake biscuits, and various frozen foods. The shortages seem to be over, but prices are 10-30% higher on everything.

[@evl1536]

This is called the "ratchet effect". If the prices are lowered, then someone in the logistics chain will have to pay less and those who are used to one price will not agree to it.

[@barteklipski6270]

Well, you won't get sophisticated 3 meals for 2$ in Poland either :P I'd probably also go for flour and eggs

[@alexgut1everything]

😀

[@manissahdaud1150]

Amazing content of your video updating the prices there keep up the good work Nikki👍👍👍

[@RAnderwill]

I would love to see you do a months worth of food for $800 or $100 usd. I am on government food credit so my month average is $350 . It’s a lot of eggs, pasta, and rice. I’d love to see a Russian take on that.

[@afcgeo882]

Food is significantly cheaper in Russia, especially domestically produced food, but you have to keep in mind that the average income in Russia is about $5500 USD per year. That’s just $460/month. There are a lot of people who make more, but also a lot who make less.

[@RAnderwill]

@@afcgeo882 I completely understand the differences there , but that’s also why I am curious.

[@blazejs76]

Move to Poland :) Even though prices for some specific types of food increased by 50% (or even more) in past year, the food is as cheap as in Russia and in many cases even cheaper. But the salary is at least 2x bigger (than in Russia). Easiest way is to work as a native speaker in language schools. And - just in case - I suggest smaller towns, cost of living is much cheaper (not to mention huge increase of rent in bigger cities).

[@RAnderwill]

@@blazejs76 I also love Poland for thier culture . Perhaps I learn polish next

[@blazejs76]

@@RAnderwill There's a channel "Love my Poland!". It belongs to an American who lives in Poland and has his own language school. Check him out :)

[@dennislbrown]

We have meat for BBQ here, pre-seasoned, but it is typically much more expensive so not as popular as just buying the meat and adding your own seasoning. Pork ribs are the most common. We also have packages that have a complete roast, with the meat, potatoes, carrots, etc. in one package, just put in a crockpot for several hours. These pre-packaged are found everywhere, but again, not as popular as separate meat, so less popular.

[@texanplayer7651]

Chokolate bars of 90 g instead of 100? Bottles of milk with 0.93 L instead of 1? Bottles of yogurt with 270 g instead of 300? Bottles of beer with 0.44 L instead of 0.5? This kind of shrinkflation is ridiculous really...

[@annikaukkonen]

Молоко сейчас даже по 0,8 , а цены выше чем на 1литр 5 лет назад

[@noone-ug8eg]

in my country we have 0,938ml of milk and 1,458ml like wtf

[@sollte1239]

@@noone-ug8eg Are you from a EU country because I can imagine the EU to forbid such stuff

[@carolinelvsewe]

Great video! All your videos are great! You go for the gold medal!!

[@wokeaf1337]

4:20 green potatoes are not for consumption, tell the store.

[@pfevrier01]

It's great to get a tour into your Russia mall. I wanted to make this comment directly and missing a bit of the guide tour. Very interesting. Greetings from Belgium.

[@shardanette1]

Are you having shrinkflation there, too? We have that in the states now, thanks in part to the special operation.

[@YeeLeeHaw]

I think Russia was first with that.

[@VerhoevenSimon]

Thank you for the interesting video, and I wonder how prices will evolve as winter comes closer.

[@U.H8]

It’s going to get tuff for everyone !!!Sorry Niky but I hope your country hits it hard…

[@ninemoonplanet]

That's so sad, I know what pensioners get, and with those prices, I can see malnutrition, possibly worse for those people who worked their entire lives. I saw the earlier challenge, watched you shopping very carefully. This time,you couldn't get enough for at least one decent meal. 🧐 I don't know how people who are raising a family are going to do. 😥

[@devrusso]

People who are raising a family don't earn 2 USD/month, dude.

[@yamataichul]

They might not had been clearer but the vast majority of middle class people can't afford proper stuff, especially if two parents work in a grocery store

[@ЕвгенияВитальевна-ц3я]

В России можно вполне прилично питаться при небольших доходах, нужно просто уметь экономно тратить свои деньги. В магазинах ВСЕГДА есть ОЧЕНЬ ХОРОШИЕ скидки . В 100 метрах от моего дома 5 " магазинов у дома", относящихся к крупным торговым сетям. Скидки на все категории товаров меняются каждую неделю. Я всегда покупаю товар по акции. Так 1 килограмм свинины карбонад стоит 300 рублей- 5 долларов, филе грудки индейки 1 килограмм=5,8 долларов, яйца 10 штук=1$, сыр 200грамм= 2,4$,. И так далее. Цены вполне хорошие. Семьи с детьми, у кого низкий доход, получают на детей от 3 до 17 лет ежемесячно доплату. На каждого ребёнка по 228$. Бензин 95 стоит 0,85$ за литр, квартплата за типовую 3 комнатную квартиру в многоквартирном доме: зимой= 105$, летом=87$. Домашний интернет за месяц ( с хорошей скоростью)=12,5$, сотовая связь практически без лимита=6$ в месяц. Медобслуживание бесплатное. Проезд у пенсионеров в общественном транспорте БЕСПЛАТНО. Льготы, дотации у пенсионеров, семей с детьми и малоимущих. Молодёжь, как правило деньги экономить не привыкли, поэтому могут возникать трудности. Я живу с сыном ( инвалидом с детства) на 2 пенсии, нам хватает.

[@luis_zuniga]

365 days should hurry up and sponsor you. Love these kind of videos.

[@sirgaz8699]

Even our cheap veg is cleaned, seriously how much does it cost to drop them through a cleaning machine? Not washed clean but mostly clean. How much does it cost to transport a dozen bags of soil per ton of veg?

[@lukei6255]

It's called organic.

[@rozasarona6357]

Anyone who wants clean can buy it, there are dirty and clean varieties of veggied in every store. It's good when you have a choice. And dirty veggies are more healthy, because they are washed using not only water, but also some chemicals.

[@felixromano3091]

Glad common people can find food hope the situation improves and peace returns

[@Penny-bt4gc]

I’d love to shop in a grocery store like that. We do have Costco and Superstore but not quite the selections you have in Russia.

[@williammccoy7127]

Well the shelves are still full so for now it looks normal . In the west prices also been only going one way and that is up.

[@truealexia]

It’s getting the same way in California. 6 months ago 12 eggs and a gallon of milk was about $6 usd. Yesterday it was $11.49 usd. And gas is almost $7 usd a gallon

[@ayela562]

But the USA has way higher average incomes. So the Russians are paying a much bigger percentage of their income on food than we do.

[@bobpadok5331]

Obama/Biden turning world superpower into developing country...Russia moving opposite direction...it take years to develop but trends are clear.

[@truealexia]

We may have a higher average income but in my particular location our basic expenses are also greater than the National average just for housing and one of the highest tax rates in the state. My average monthly food budget after just rent is $80 a month so $12 for 2 basic staples is tough

[@apergiel]

California prices. You pay for the climate. 🌞. Prices a little lower in Oregon. Much lower in hot humid buggy Texas.

[@robinsaxophone232]

I’ve been driving less, slower and ride sharing. Found I’m spending less on gas than before gas went up. I don’t eat animal products or oil. I stock up on dried beans, rice, pasta, potatoes, quinoa, lentils, etc. fresh produce is high but I look for deals and stock up on frozen when they are on sale.

[@mudmudmudmudmud7605]

I live in the US and I just started eating quinoa and it's expensive. How much is it for you?

[@robinsaxophone232]

@@mudmudmudmudmud7605 I get it at Costco. It was about 11.50 for a 4.5 lb bag. Lasts me a long time.