(Dan Tri) – The assassination of a large farm owner in Russia highlights the crisis of rising egg prices, as the country tries to juggle economic goals amid war.

Gennady Shiryaev (center) was ambushed by a gunman and shot twice at the BMW that the `Egg King` was driving (Photo: Telegraph).

One day at the end of 2023, Gennady Shiryaev, 59 years old, owner of the largest Tretykov poultry farm in Russia’s western region of Voronezh, was driving home when he was ambushed by a stranger.

Police have not announced a motive for the assassination, but Mash’s Telegram channel reported that the incident was caused by `locals dissatisfied with Mr. Shiryaev’s increase in product prices`.

The reason for the increase in egg prices is the convergence of many factors that the Wall Street Journal believes are characteristic of the Russian economy at this time.

Specifically, Western sanctions have disturbed the supply chain of agricultural equipment that used to come from Europe, creating a negative impact on the Russian poultry industry.

The weak ruble has also made importing animal feed and veterinary products more expensive, while labor shortages have left some suppliers without enough farmers.

All of which makes the egg shock a manifestation of the imbalance building in Russia’s wartime economy, according to the Wall Street Journal.

In recent months, Russians from Belgorod to Siberia have lined up to buy eggs as this essential food item ran into shortages and prices rose.

Egg prices increased about 60% in December 2023 compared to the same period last year, according to data released on January 12.

Before the New Year holiday, customers had to wait in long lines to buy eggs.

Some supermarkets in Siberia and the Crimean peninsula annexed by Russia from Ukraine in 2014 sold individual eggs (Photo: Zuma Press).

The Telegram social network was quickly flooded with hundreds of posts from people concerned about the egg shortage, exchanging tips on buying cheap eggs or simply joking.

`Everyone keeps saying bitcoin, bitcoin, but I said you need to invest in eggs,` another user wrote.

After Mr. Putin admitted that the government was at fault for not promptly importing enough eggs, the authorities took action.

Authorities are also conducting antitrust investigations into egg and chicken producers, including the Tretykovskaya poultry farm owned by Mr. Shiryaev, known as the `Egg King.`

One factor that could be difficult to overcome is vaccine shortages after Western sanctions complicated imports of the product.

`There’s nothing to vaccinate so the birds get sick,` said a veterinarian in St.

According to Tatiana Orlova, leading emerging markets economist at Oxford Economics, eggs are a relatively small part of the consumer basket, but people often easily notice when egg prices increase sharply.

Experts predict that egg inflation will soon stabilize but prices will remain high.