ECONOMICS
Prices in Moscow and other Russian cities have skyrocketed since the start of Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. At the same time, however, Western countries were also hit by a wave of inflation — not as steep, but still record-setting by local standards. Russians who relocated abroad have compared their experiences and found that, even when measuring cost of living based on the price of food, the overall economic picture remains complex. To see where it’s easier to make ends meet, The Insider compared grocery baskets in several major cities and compiled an “international okroshka index” — named in honor of the cold summer soup consisting of cucumbers, sausage, potatoes, eggs, and sour cream. Moscow turned out to be cheaper than Warsaw, while Tel Aviv was even more expensive than New York.
Content
Tbilisi – the king of fruits and vegetables
Bread and pasta are most affordable in Moscow
Eggs not as costly as they seem
The sausage spread
In the okroshka index, Tbilisi comes out the winner
Average salaries in all these cities
How inflation has been rising in Russia during the war years
Comparing food prices across countries is complicated in part because quality can vary greatly. To smooth out this effect, The Insider compared the cost of the cheapest items in each category sold in budget supermarket chains. Alongside Moscow, the comparison included Tbilisi, Yerevan, Warsaw, Berlin, Tel Aviv, and New York. For the sake of simplicity, all prices are listed in euros.
Tbilisi – the king of fruits and vegetables
Cucumbers were cheapest in Tbilisi, at €0.27 per kilo and slightly more expensive in Tel Aviv (€0.49). In Moscow they can be had for €0.76, but only when they’re in season. Next came Berlin (€1), Warsaw (€2.37), Yerevan (€2.68, ), and New York (€3.42).
The Georgian capital also had the cheapest tomatoes (€0.95). But here the picture shifts: they were only slightly more expensive in Berlin (€1) and Warsaw (€1.18). Next was Tel Aviv (€1.51), followed by Moscow (€1.61). Surprisingly, the most expensive tomatoes weren’t in New York (€1.87), but in Yerevan (€1.99).
In Tbilisi, bell peppers were also the cheapest (€0.43), along with bunches of greens (€0.32) and onions (€0.33).
In Moscow’s Pyaterochka supermarket, the cheapest red bell peppers cost €2.57 per kilo, while in Armenia, the cheapest green peppers go for €1.68 — still more expensive than in Poland (€1.41) and Tel Aviv (€1.54), but below Berlin (€1.80) and New York (€1.96). The priciest greens were also in New York (€1.02).
Oranges, however, were cheapest in Yerevan (€1.45) and Georgia (€1.56). The most expensive were in Tel Aviv (€1.77) and New York (€2.05). As we can see, the price range here is relatively narrow.
New York outperformed the other cities when it came to bananas: the cheapest there, at just €1.02 per kilo. Prices were almost the same in Tbilisi (€1.07) and Yerevan (€1.27). The most expensive bananas were in Israel (€2.53).
Apples finally cement Tbilisi’s status as the fruit-and-vegetable capital of affordability. At supermarket Ori Nabiji, they cost just €0.79 per kilo. In Moscow, even though the local apple season has begun, the cheapest ones at Pyaterochka sell for €1.04. In Armenia’s Zovq, the price is €1.32. At the top end are Tel Aviv (€2.02), Berlin (€2.22), and New York (€2.39).
Bread and pasta are most affordable in Moscow
Let’s move to a category no table can do without. It turns out the cheapest potatoes are also in Tbilisi – €0.43 per kilo. Moscow comes in second at €0.64, followed by Berlin (€0.70) and Warsaw (€0.71). In Tel Aviv, potatoes go for €0.74, and in Yerevan for €0.76. In New York, they were twice as expensive as in Moscow — €1.45 .
Potatoes cost twice as much in New York as they do in Moscow
With pasta, the situation shifts a bit. In Moscow, Krasnaya Tsena (“Red Price”) spaghetti sells for the equivalent of €0.57 per kilo (21 rubles for a 400-gram pack), but the next brand up – Zernitsa – jumps sharply to €0.96 per kilo. In Tbilisi, the cheapest spaghetti costs €0.80, in Warsaw €1.36, in Berlin €1.80, in Tel Aviv €2.14, in Yerevan €2.86, and in New York €2.90.
A white loaf of Krasnaya Tsena bread in Moscow costs €0.60 per kilo, though all other options are around twice as expensive. At Ori Nabiji in Tbilisi, bread is €0.70 per kilo, at Zovq in Yerevan €1.23 (though local lavash is cheaper), at Lidl in Poland €1.20, at Aldi in Germany €1.78, at Walmart in the U.S. €2.90, and in equivalent Israeli stores — €3.58.
Eggs not as costly as they seem
In dairy and eggs, Moscow once again delivers a pleasant surprise. Krasnaya Tsena eggs, category C1, cost €0.43 per dozen, though other brands start at around €1.05. At Carrefour in Tbilisi, the same eggs go for €1.26, in Yerevan €1.34, at Aldi in Germany €1.70, at Walmart in the U.S. €1.95, at Lidl in Poland €2.37, and €2.97 in Israeli stores.
Milk is also cheapest in Moscow — €0.69 per liter (though that’s Krasnaya Tsena; other store brands start at €0.84). In Warsaw the price is €0.73, in Tbilisi €0.93, in Berlin €1, and in Yerevan €1.06. The highest milk prices are in New York (€1.55) and Tel Aviv (€1.84).
Kefir, like eggs, turned out to be cheapest in Moscow — €0.46 (though yet again, that’s for Krasnaya Tsena; other brands cost at least twice as much). In Warsaw, kefir costs a comparable €0.84. In Yerevan it’s noticeably more expensive (€1.55), while in New York kefir is practically a delicacy, costing €5.87.
Kefir and eggs are cheapest in Moscow, but only under the least expensive store brand — other labels cost twice as much
The most affordable butter can be found in Moscow and New York, where it costs roughly the same — €1.53 for 180 grams (again Krasnaya Tsena) and $1.80 for 200 grams, respectively. Next are Warsaw (€1.64), Berlin (€1.90), and Yerevan (€1.94). The priciest butter is in Tel Aviv at €2.46 for 200 grams.
For cheese, the comparison looked at semi-hard varieties. Since the cheapest brands vary by country and store, several were included: Edam, Cheddar, Dutch, Gouda, and Emmental. In Moscow’s Auchan, Edam on sale sells for €1.85 per 200 grams. At Carrefour in Tbilisi, a 200-gram pack of Cheddar costs €4.58, though Edam sold by weight is only about €2.40.
At Yerevan’s Zovq, 200 grams of Emmental go for €2.68 — though it’s worth noting that both Georgia and Armenia produce plenty of local cheeses that sell for much cheaper. At Lidl in Warsaw, Edam costs €1.61, at Aldi in Berlin Gouda sells for €2.29, at Walmart in the U.S. Cheddar costs €1.53, while in Israeli stores cheese goes for €5.12 (though buying it by weight brings the price down by around a third).
The sausage spread
The price gap in the meat category is especially wide. The cheapest boiled sausage can be found in Tbilisi – €1.18 for half a kilo. In Warsaw it costs €1.38, in Moscow €1.93, and in Yerevan €2.25. In New York, sausage goes for €2.38, and in Berlin €3. However, the undisputed champion of high prices is Tel Aviv, where a stick of Dymov boiled sausage sells for an incredible €13.56 — but of course, sausage is a rarity in Israel due to the fact that such products often contain pork, and it is difficult to find outside of “Russian” stores in the country.
Ground beef is cheapest in Moscow – €2.50 for 400 grams. Next comes Yerevan (€3.20 for the same weight) and Tbilisi (€3.33). In New York, it’s €3.74, in Warsaw €4.15, and in Tel Aviv a comparatively reasonable €4.16. Surprisingly, the most expensive ground beef is in Berlin at €4.80.
Chilled chicken breast is most affordable in Warsaw — €3.79 per kilo. In Moscow, the cheapest is at Auchan, where halal chicken from the An-Noor brand costs €4.18. Next are New York, Yerevan (€6.04), Tbilisi (€7.09 in supermarkets, though farmers’ markets offer it for around €6), and Berlin (€7.30). Unsurprisingly, the highest price is in Tel Aviv — €10.23.
In the okroshka index, Tbilisi comes out the winner
And so we arrive at the signature dish — the “international okroshka index.” Not long ago, The Insider reported on Russia’s domestic “okroshka index,” which helps analysts calculate an alternative measure of price growth. Those annual calculations are published by the Chek Index center, which estimates that the set of standard ingredients has risen in price by 14% over the past year.
In the international version of the okroshka index, we’re not tracking dynamics but instead the cost of the ingredient set in different countries. The cheapest okroshka, prepared by a simple recipe, turned out to be in Tbilisi – €1.71. In Moscow, it’s noticeably more expensive – €2.37 (and that’s with eggs from the Krasnaya Tsena brand). In Yerevan it comes to €2.56. In Warsaw you’ll pay €2.95, in Berlin €3.63, and in New York €4.45 ($5.24). That leaves the most expensive okroshka: Tel Aviv, at €5.35, making it more than double the price in Moscow (and that’s even after substituting in frankfurters, given that in Israel boiled sausage containing pork is mostly imported and unjustifiably expensive).
The most expensive chicken breast, is in Tel Aviv at €10.23 per kilo — the price in Moscow is a mere €4.18
Average salaries in all these cities
It’s not enough to look at prices alone — income levels also need to be considered. The Insider has analyzed statistical data (collected differently and at different times in each country) and presents the latest available figures, usually before taxes and other deductions. In Moscow, according to Rosstat, the average monthly salary was equivalent to €1,933. In New York, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported an average monthly income of about €4,396 ($5,172), based on weekly earnings of €1,099. This modest figure for the “Big Apple” may be explained by the fact that the Bureau includes the surrounding New Jersey suburbs, where wages are lower. For comparison, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, the average monthly salary in New York City alone was €7,423 ($8,733) in 2023 — and it is likely even higher now.
Berlin-Brandenburg’s statistical office, meanwhile, reports that the average salary in the German capital in 2024 was €4,105. The Warsaw statistical office gives an average city wage of €2,484 for May 2025. And in Tel Aviv the average monthly salary for 2023/2024 was €5,285, according to Israel’s National Insurance Institute.
On the lower end of the scale, the figure in Tbilisi was €803 per month over the first quarter of 2025, and in Yerevan during the same period it was €776, the statistical agencies of Georgia and Armenia report, respectively).
How inflation has been rising in Russia during the war years
According to Rosstat, inflation in Russia was 11.94% in 2022, 7.42% in 2023, and 9.52% in 2024. But when it comes to food and overall consumer prices, it is running at 20–30% a year, two economists told The Insider on the condition of anonymity. Muscovites interviewed say food prices have gone up “several times over” — and that quality has simultaneously declined.
Analysts interviewed by The Insider point to several reasons for rising food prices in Russia:
- higher electricity costs due to rising tariffs;
- the withdrawal of foreign companies from the market, which has made logistics more expensive and compelled importers to make purchases through previously less competitive intermediaries;
- currency fluctuations, which in the early years of the war made imported goods less affordable;
- higher costs for imported equipment and veterinary drugs used in agriculture;
- wage growth amid high inflation and shrinking workforces caused by mobilization and emigration;
- “rainy day” markups factored into prices by producers, retailers, and suppliers (to make money before a possible crisis).
It is important to note that Russia’s so-called “red price” discounts can be misleading, since they apply only to a very limited set of items.