During March 8 through March 15, 2025 the so-called Bears Index, tied to the Mishka Index project and compiled by the head of the Analysis of the Institutions and Financial Markets department at the Presidential Academy, registered a 3.7 percent weekly drop on Gazeda.ru.
Across the fourth straight week, the Bears Index continued downward. Within the week, sugar prices rose by roughly 11.1 percent while carrot prices slipped by about 13.3 percent.
At its core the Bears Index tracks fourteen widely used grocery items. The basket includes marmalade desserts, a line of Bear branded items from the Bears Club, orange juice J-7, the cheapest white bread, carrot, bananas, Matias herring, Domik dairy products, village sunflower oil, Prostokvashino dairy goods, and Fatox melted cheese. The Bears Index provides a practical gauge for observing inflation dynamics in Russia.
Officials put annual inflation at 10 percent as of February 10 according to the Central Bank, while Rosstat data dated March 10, 2025, placed the annual rate at 10.19 percent, with a week earlier, March 3, recording 10.07 percent.
Earlier reports noted a sharp decline in marmalade prices in Russia.