The outlook for Russia’s economy has become ‘increasingly gloomy.’

After sanctions hobbled production at its assembly plant in Kaliningrad, the Russian automaker Avtotor announced a lottery for free 10-acre plots of land — and the chance to buy seed potatoes — so employees could grow their own food in the westernmost fringe of the Russian empire during “the difficult economic situation.”

Banks have shortened receipts in response to a paper shortage. Clothing manufacturers said they were running out of buttons.

“The economic prospects for Russia are especially gloomy,” the Bank of Finland said in an analysis this month. “By initiating a brutal war against Ukraine, Russia has chosen to become much poorer and less influential in economic terms.” Read more

@nytimes