Russia’s war economy fuels rustbelt revival

Russian retailers are rushing to set up shop in the country’s rustbelt, tapping into new wealth flowing from soldiers’ bonuses and rampant military production.

Shops, restaurants and gym chains have opened up in Russia’s most deprived regions, which serve as recruiting pools for Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. The country’s war economy has also created jobs, increased salaries for factory workers and injected unprecedented sums of money into historically poor towns and cities….