The State Duma estimated “real inflation” at 17-18%

“I think the government and everyone else hide real inflation, because if they show it, then you need to increase salaries in the public sector, pensions, but you don’t want to give money away,” the parliamentarian said.

In his opinion, the management of the Bank of Russia, when making decisions on the key interest rate, focuses on real inflation, and not on publicly announced values. “[Глава ЦБ Эльвира] Nabiullina sees everything. She doesn’t want the banks to fail. Because all of people’s deposits and savings will disappear, entire companies will go bankrupt. Therefore, it hedges its bets and increases the key rate based on real inflation,” Arefiev explained.

According to Rosstat data released earlier this week, annual inflation in Russia stood at 8.76%, exceeding the Central Bank’s October forecast of 8-8.5%. According to the analysis of the current price situation prepared by the Ministry of Economic Development, in November monthly inflation accelerated to 1.43%, compared to 0.75% in October.

According to Arefyev, in reality inflation in Russia is 17-18%. “If you calculate how producer prices increase and how prices increase in the retail market, you can see that inflation is far from 8% and not 9%,” the deputy emphasized.

He called for a parliamentary investigation and punishment for people who “do not tell the truth” and “make false decisions,” aggravating the situation in the economy.