The Russian economy is non-monetary in the sense that the bulk of inter-enterprise and even governmental transactions are not conducted in monetary form but through barter chains and the use of various kinds of non-monetary instruments. However, retail trade and the provision of consumer services are almost entirely monetary: it is not possible for households to issue bills of exchange to buy their groceries or to settle their utilities bills, nor is it generally possible to acquire goods in shops or retail markets for anything other than cash.1 While enterprises and government bodies have adapted quite comfortably to life without money, households with falling money incomes have a steadily declining capacity to meet even their most basic needs directly through the market.