Russian inflation is too high. Does that matter?

While inflation has cooled almost everywhere, in Russia it is hotting up. Consumer prices rose by 9.5% year on year in December, up from 8.9% the previous month and uncomfortably above the central bank’s target of 4% (see chart). The prices of fruit and vegetables have risen by more than 20% on average in the past year. In a normal country, this sort of high inflation would be unsustainable. But Russia is not a normal country.