Imported goods became much more expensive for Russian consumers, who were paid in what were now devalued rubles; and they cut way back on such purchases. At the same time, owing to the fall in the ruble, domestically produced Russian goods were now much more competitive not only domestically but internationally. This applied to both manufactures and agriculture, in the latter case also aided by far-reaching reforms in the farming sector. Russia became the largest exporter of wheat in the world—quite a turnaround from the 1970s, when the Soviet Union spent a good part of its oil earnings buying
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