Analysts dispute on nature of rush demand in Chechnya

Residents of Chechnya have succumbed to panic and began buying out foodstuffs, although it is now wiser to buy imported goods, Sergey Zhavoronkov, an economist, has stated. In her turn, Olga Kryshtanovskaya, a sociologist, believes that there is no real panic yet, and people are simply guided by their life experiences.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that after the information about the preventive measures taken in Chechnya against the spread of coronavirus, hype began: residents of the republic began to buy out foodstuffs in large quantities. Ramzan Kadyrov and the Mufti of Chechnya, Salakh Mezhiev, urged them not to rush into panic.

However, Sergey Zhavoronkov, an expert at the Gaidar Institute for Economic Policies, is sure that buying out foodstuffs in Chechnya has a panic nature. "There is nothing reasonable in what is happening now. Such an incomprehensible panic of buying out various foodstuffs is now observed all over the world," he told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent, adding that the only things worth buying now are imported goods, since they will inevitably go up in price due to the rouble devaluation.

There are still reasons for buying foodstuffs, said Olga Kryshtanovskaya, the head of the Centre for Studying Elites at the Sociology Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS). "The reason is in the coronavirus and in the rouble depreciation. The foodstuff stocking would have been even without the coronavirus pandemic. People here, when the rouble falls, understand that foodstuffs will soon become more expensive; and try to stock sugar, sunflower oil and so on, that is, the essentials. In people's life there were so many similar situations – rouble falls, then monetary reforms, then sanctions, or some kind of deficit – the situation, when it's necessary to make foodstuff reserves is customary for people" Ms Kryshtanovskaya told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on March 19, 2020 at 08:31 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.