For Darya Stepanova, a mother of two who lives in a small town on the eastern side of the Ural mountains, soaring prices for everything from baby food to nappies have forced her family to cut back on most treats and eating out.

The Stepanov family is one of millions of Russian families having to cut back due to the significant changes forced on Russia’s economy by the war in Ukraine and the myriad sanctions imposed by the West.

Stepanova, 34, her five year old son and newborn son, try to make ends meet on the 50,000 roubles ($550) a month her husband Sergei earns. When she goes through the snow to the shops, she inspects the prices to search for bargains.

“I can see how everything has become more expensive in the course of just these past five years,” Stepanova told Reuters in her flat in Sredneuralsk, a town on the shores of Lake Iset about 25 km (15 miles) north of the Urals city of Yekaterinburg and 1400 km (870 miles) east of Moscow.