(Moscow) – Russia is facing a major shortage of potatoes, with prices soaring by 173 percent amid mounting economic problems and international sanctions. To ease the crisis, Russian authorities have turned to Mongolia for emergency supplies – a country that only began cultivating the vegetable two decades ago.
According to the Ukrainian Centre for Countering Disinformation (CCD), the Kremlin has been urgently seeking potatoes from neighbouring states after exhausting supplies in Belarus and China. Despite these efforts, demand has outstripped availability, forcing Russia to import more than 4,000 tonnes of potatoes from Mongolia this May alone.
In an unusual admission, even Russian dictator Vladimir Putin has acknowledged the shortage, which has baffled citizens. Historically, Russia exported potatoes to Mongolia. Now the roles are reversed, and Russians are left wondering how a traditional staple has become so scarce in one of the world’s largest countries.
The CCD attributes the crisis to a mix of rising inflation, Western sanctions, and a decline in the area of land used for farming. The economic fallout is now visible at the dinner table, as the so called “second bread” – a common nickname for potatoes in Russia – becomes harder to afford.
While Russian state media continues to push the idea of economic independence, the reality is far more fragile. The inability to secure basic food items like potatoes highlights the deepening cracks in the Russian economy under the weight of prolonged war, sanctions, and global isolation.
