Russia
How much can you save travelling now to
Hotel
May 2022
Room in 5-star hotel costs from €271, which in Nov 2020 was €494.
You can save on your hotel costs:
-45,1%
Food
May 2022
2 dinners, 2 beer, 2-litres Coca Cola costs €73, which in Nov 2020 was €65. You can't save on food costs
+12,3%
Shopping
May 2022
Cinema ticket, Zara dress, Levi's jeans, Nike sneakers and iPhone XS costs €1104, which in Nov 2020 was €1624. You can save on shopping:
-32%
Why Russia is cheaper now?
Russia’s economy has been always dependent on prices of natural resources, such as oil and gas. More than half of the budget is proceeds from the sale of oil, gas and arms.
When in 2014 oil crude prices dropped twice, Ruble showed its historical minimums. After OPEC deal regarding production cuts, crude oil prices recovered, but consolidated on levels below, as well as Ruble. Uncertainty in possible US sanctions, which in its worst scenario would ban investments in Government bonds and switch off Russian banks from global SWIFT system, makes Russia very risky investment idea.
However, for traveler Russia gives unique experiences of the biggest country in the world, friendly people and delicious food!
Update. Due to Russia-Ukraine tensions, Ruble feels high pressure as well as bond market. Until war fears wouldn't step back, we would see low levels of Russian currency.
Ruble has lost more than 1.2% in comparison with Euro and has gained more than 1% with USD.
Inflation rate is 8,7% and EU inflation is 5.1%.
Tickets
There are plenty of cheap tickets to Russia from other European countries. The cheapest tickets in May are:
90€ from Minsk
190€ from Aktobe
212€ from Bishkek
257€ from Dushanbe
The BigMac Index by The Economist suggests that Russian Rouble is 68% undervalued if we look at the Raw Index. And is 47,3% undervalued using GDP-adjusted methodology.