Russian newspapers are openly mocking the country’s deepening economic turmoil in a rare public display of frustration inside Russia. The growing signs of discontent were highlighted by BBC Russia Editor Steve Rosenberg, who has been monitoring Russian media coverage as the Kremlin battles soaring inflation, shortages and the strain of the war in Ukraine.

In a post on X, Mr Rosenberg observed: “Judging by what I read in Russian newspapers, jokes about economic problems & internet restrictions are permitted. Can’t see any jokes about the president.” His review of the Russian press revealed increasingly bleak reporting on thestate of the economy, alongside dark humour aimed at rising prices, censorship and collapsing living standards. Kommersant, one ofRussia’s best-known daily newspapers, admitted that while there had been “an April improvement in estimates of current demand forRussian industrial products”, the country’s manufacturing slowdown was continuing.

In this morning’s Russian newspapers: Moscow warns Kyiv not to target the Red Square parade; problems with Russian bonds, with “almost 25% of the bond market at risk of default”; and what a newspaper joke section is saying about the state of the Russian economy.#ReadingRussiapic.twitter.com/IO87zNFUaE

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The publication warned: “The dynamics of investment, employment, and capacity utilisation point to continued cooling, while weak domestic demand remains a key constraint on production expansion.”

Another report by Izvestia, which has strong pro-Kremlin ties, claimed nearly a quarter of Russia’s bond market is now at risk of default because of cripplingborrowing costs and rising taxes.

It also cited growing shortages of cancer medicines across the country including methotrexate and etoposide, with “mass complaints” emerging from patients.

But it is the appearance of openly pessimistic jokes in state-linked newspapers and magazines that has stunned observers.

One joke published in one of Russia’s biggest and most widely read tabloids, Komsomolskaya Pravda, said: “For 75% of Russians, all that’s left of their financial cushion are a few feathers and a cushion cover with a hole in it.”

Source: Daily Express :: World Feed