#SOON: Russians roast Putin on Twitter with hashtag predicting economic ruin

By Fusion Staff  |  December 16, 2014 | 5:42pm
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Russia’s economy is in big trouble.

Hit by rising prices for domestic goods and the world’s slowing demand for oil — on which its economy largely depends — Russia now faces its worst crisis since 1998, when the country defaulted.

At 1 a.m. local time Tuesday, Russia’s central bank raised interest rates a massive 17 percent in an attempt to stop the value of the ruble, Russia’s currency, from plunging further than it already has. The ruble has declined 35 percent against the dollar over the past month.

But it’s not yet clear if the rate hike will work — the currency was down another 6 percent Tuesday.

As a result, Russians have begun to unpack their notorious gallows humor on Twitter to discuss the ugly fate of their economy, using the hashtag “СКОРО,” or “Soon.” We used Google and Paralink for translations.

“Soon: We’re going to need a bigger board.”

“Soon: All the country’s airports will look like this. Think of the housing that will be available.”

“Soon: The trolls from Dow Jones are going to take our necks.”

https://twitter.com/ArtemDenisOff/status/544824310331092992

“‘Great’ news everyone: Soon, In all the countries of ‘Greater Russia,’ tourism operators will go bankrupt.”

“The New Year’s feast is coming soon, don’t forget!”

“Putin had a dream he was Napoleon. Meanwhile, his cronies burned Moscow. Soon: € 1 = 99,99RUB.”

And this scene from “A Million Ways to Die in the West,” in which a father admonishes his son, “Take off your hat and show some respect boy, that’s a dollar!”

The Instagrammer captioned it, “Soon in Russia.”

Rob covers business, economics and the environment for Fusion. He previously worked at Business Insider. He grew up in Chicago.

 
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