The Belarusian "stronghold" crumbles

A couple of days ago I came across an interesting account of the recent economic woes in Belarus (in English, and Russian). The country is facing a multitude of shortages, including of staples, as well as a currency crisis and a run on virtually everything that can be exchanged. Here is one of the more evocative quotes from a Bloomberg article about the economic collapse:

"The price of children’s diapers has “gone completely insane” in Minsk, said Natalia, a 24-year-old mother also queuing outside the refrigerator store. “I used to buy a pack for 69,000 rubles, now they cost 140,000,” or almost half the 343,260-ruble monthly child benefit paid by the government, she said."

 What's interesting about the first article I linked is the personal perspective of what its like to live in a country that has barely (if at all) moved past the Soviet times, and what one can do to survive amidst the economic chaos. Here's a  teaser:

"A smart Belarusian buys a ticket for Irkutsk in Minsk, paying 1,430,000 rubles (worth 290 dollars at the new exchange rate). The trip lasts four days and ends in the middle of nowhere, so the somber Belarusian boards a commuter train to Smolensk where he turns in his train ticket and gets a refund in Russian rubles. Our crisis has made us extra-resourceful"

As for where the whole is going. The safe money seems to be on Russia buying a large chunk of Belarus wholesale. But there may yet be many surprises along the way...