Ruble Slump Hits Russians’ Wallets, Not Their Support for Putin

Ruble Slump Hits Russians’ Wallets, Not Their Support for Putin
Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs the Commission on military-technical cooperation with foreign states in his residence in Novo-Ogaryovo, outside Moscow, on July 6, 2017.ALEXEY DRUZHININ/AFP/Getty Images
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MOSCOW—Alexei Nikolayev, one of more than 56 million Russians who re-elected President Vladimir Putin in March, is already counting the likely cost of a weaker ruble: less spending power abroad, higher prices at home, and another round of belt-tightening.

But Nikolayev, a 56-year old graphic designer who enjoys foreign travel and imported wine, blames the West, not Putin, for the pain and has no regrets about voting for a politician he sees as the right man to guide Russia through troubled times.