By Kate de Pury
On August 14th 2023 Moscow was a city on edge. Ukrainian drones were flying into its buildings. Yevgeny Prigozhin, the warlord who had marched a mutinous army towards the capital a few weeks previously, was still at large. But what most unnerved Muscovites that warm Monday was the state of the rouble.
Explore more
More from 1843 magazine
![](https://www.economist.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=1424,quality=80,format=auto/media-assets/image/1843_20240709_1843_Demob_Teas.jpg)
1843 magazine | The rage of Ukraine’s army wives
Two years ago their husbands signed up to defend their country. They still have no idea when they will come home
![](https://www.economist.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=1424,quality=80,format=auto/media-assets/image/1843_20240703_1843_GERON_Teas.jpg)
1843 magazine | America’s gerontocrats are more radical than they look
A conservative writer argues that his country’s rulers exhibit the vices of youth, not old age
![](https://www.economist.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=1424,quality=80,format=auto/media-assets/image/1843_20240627_1843_West_Isles_Teas.jpg)
1843 magazine | Rogue otters and vicious letterboxes: on the campaign trail in the Outer Hebrides
The remote Scottish constituency has all Britain’s problems but worse