US Edition 
Shoplifting in Russia is soaring as the economy crumbles
More than £10m-worth of goods were stolen from Russian stores last year, a 44pc increase from the previous year, as real wages plunge
Shoplifting in Russia surged last year as the economic fallout from crippling sanctions and plunging oil prices increased the number of people living in poverty.
Some 930m rubles (£10.4m) of goods were stolen from Russian stories in 2014, an increase of 44pc on the 648m rubles-worth swiped the previous year.
Expensive goods such as premium alcohol, sausage and fish delicacies, coffee, eggs, perfume and cosmetics were among the most shoplifted items, but cheaper items from checkouts are also susceptible to theft, according to Izvestia, the Russian newspaper, which cited data from the Federal Tax Service.
The paper quoted experts saying that the official figures are "just the tip of the iceberg" as they only include cases of shoplifting that were reported to the police, and shops might choose not to admit the full scale of their losses.
The actual level of theft could be as high as 2 trillion rubles (£22.3bn).
More than half, 55pc, of the shoplifting took place in Moscow, Izvestia said.
Russian living standards have declined in recent years as ongoing political warfare with Ukraine, Western sanctions and tumbling oil prices weighed on the ruble, which has fallen 41pc against the dollar and 34pc against the euro.
The weaker currency drove up inflation, which leapt 15pc by the end of 2014, roughly double the rate a year earlier. Living standards are slumping, with real wages falling by 14pc in the year to May.
The number of Russians under the poverty line, living on 9,662 rubles (£107.56) a month, jumped by an annual 15pc to 23m at the end of March, meaning that 15pc of the population is considered poor.
Although Russian officials have insisted the worst is over, the former finance minister, Alexei Kudrin, said recently that Russia would not start to recover from this economic slump for another year.