Sugar isn't a good indicator of much. Russia basically got their sugar from the country they just invaded. And Ukraine is just in a shitty strategic location. No one really cared about them until it became blindingly obvious they have a strategic location important to Russia. The sugar problem will resolve itself in a few months. The oil-based energy problem (where Russia holds the advantage) is going to take years to untangle.
I agree, sugar perhaps is not a good indicator. There wasn't an actual shortage of sugar, it was a short-lived market panic. But, still, many other sectors of the Russian economy are already suffering - automakers, air travel & cargo are good examples. Some big tech companies like Cisco have entirely left the market, which is neither good for Russians nor Cisco. They already come $200M short in their quarterly. The layoffs didn't follow only because Cisco already slashed thousands of jobs last year due to the pandemic.
Yes, there will be a lot of money in hard currency from oil and gas, but without access to high-tech & parts (which not many countries would sell to Russia), it's gonna pull the entire country into stagnation.
whoosh!
It was actually 1.6 dollars for 1 soviet ruble. But it was impossible to freely buy dollars at that rate.
It doesn't mean much. If I remember it right, back in USSR time, the ruble rate was about 1.6 for a dollar. Yet people couldn't buy toilet paper whenever they needed it. There was a severe deficit of pretty much everything. It's not going to be like in the 90s - the economy is very different, but sugar shortages just three-four weeks into the war is not a good sign. It will get tough for Russians, which is not beneficial to anyone - not for them, nor for Europeans, Americans, or Chinese.