According to analysts, investments in gold are comparable to investments in euros, and they account for about a third of personal savings in Russia. There is no boom, but people buy a lot of gold coins and bullions. “The most popular coin is a coin with a nominal value of RUR 10. We alone sell several thousands of such coins a month, for several months in a row already,” Vadim Yefimov of Nomos-Bank told the Finansovye Izvestiya newspaper.

This coin has a nominal value of RUR 10, and it contains 7.74 grams of pure gold. Its cost depends on gold price fluctuations on both foreign and Russian markets. A year ago, such coins were sold at about RUR 2,000 to RUR 2,100, and their current price is RUR 2,800 – RUR 3,000. An annual return of 50 percent is several times more than on most profitable bank deposits.

According to Mr. Yefimov, individual customers also buy gold bullions, but most of them purchase small bullions, containing only several grams of gold. This is unsurprising – sales are restricted by the VAT tax. Buying a gold bullion in a bank, customers have to pay a 20 percent VAT. However, there is no tax refund when customers sell gold bullions back to the bank, which frightens potential investors.