...The falling ruble has launched a spate of jokes in the style of Russians’ notoriously dark humor. One from a few weeks ago—“What do Putin’s age, the ruble and the oil price have in common? They all hit 63 next year”—has already become a grim reality. The site Zenrus.ru, which showed the dollar exchange rate, the Euro exchange rate and the price of Brent crude changing in real time against a background of soothing New Age music and slow-motion waves, became a runaway hit on social networks. Last week, the site’s background changed to funeral black.

For many, though, it was no joking matter. A businessman who reportedly owned a stake in an investment company shot himself in the head at the Hotel National in Moscow on Tuesday night, with Russian media reporting the ruble’s fall had driven him to suicide. On Thursday, the Moscow Psychological Help Service announced free consultations for those suffering from the effects of the economic crisis.

But besides the surging demand at electronics and furniture stores, there was no indication that anything was amiss on the streets of Moscow last week. Although lines were reported outside some currency exchanges on Tuesday, many others were empty, and several locals said they had either bought foreign currency months ago or had decided not to purchase it after the exchange rate dropped so far. Upscale shopping malls were even full of customers doing their holiday shopping on Tuesday night. “We’re buying less than usual, leaving ourselves some reserves,” said engineer Alyona Kubayeva as she walked out of a mall with bags of Lego toys under her arms. “We’re already thinking today that next year could be worse, so we’re trying to save. But you can’t do without presents on New Year’s.” (...)