People walk along the street passing between old and new residential buildings in a small town in the Moscow region, on November 21, 2024. Under the impact of the explosion of military orders, inflation is expected to approach 9% at the end of the year. The cost of credit, the engine of Russia's economic growth, has become prohibitive. To combat inflation, the Russian Central Bank (RBC) raised the reference rate to 21% at the end of October and "is considering" a new increase on 20 December, said the institution's director, Elvira Nabiullina. (Photo by Natalia KOLESNIKOVA / AFP) (Photo by NATALIA KOLESNIKOVA/AFP via Getty Images)