Growing social tension: food queues, layoffs and fear of unemployment

By the end of autumn, a number of Russian regions faced serious social instability: rising prices, rising unemployment, closure of small enterprises, production cuts, and shortages of goods. People stood in line for basic products; some did not receive promised payments for months. Many families put off large expenses: repairs, studies, treatment. Young people are thinking about moving, migrating, trying to leave the country. For older people, there is a fear that savings will not be enough. Society began to feel more deeply that there was no longer stability. People did not complain openly - fear of responsibility, reprisals, pressure on activists. But internally there is anxiety, distrust, discontent. October 2024 was the month when economic crisis and war began to strike at the very social fabric of the country. And it became clear to people: the old life would not return.