幾個月以來，在美國和歐盟的經濟制裁下，俄羅斯貨幣盧布貶值近一半。除富豪資產縮水外，女性連一支口紅也買不起。面對這波金融危機，有議員竟還有心情說風涼話，來自西伯利亞的參議員伊戈爾?切爾尼舍夫就為那些還在努力省錢購買進口化妝產品的俄羅斯女性出謀劃策：用甜菜根代替口紅。他建議大家回歸“自然面容”。

切爾尼舍夫在一個俄羅斯網站上寫道，“女人離了進口口紅也能生活。男人喜歡的是自然美。如果女士們一定要在嘴唇上化妝，那也沒問題——她們可以用甜菜根。甜菜根純天然且不添加化學品，對人體無害。”

這位政客還說，俄羅斯女性沒有必要購買昂貴的進口內衣，他說“我們國家的女性穿本國制造的內衣比穿法國制造的更好看。”

A Russian politician has offered some sage advice to women struggling to afford imported beauty products: use beetroot instead of lipstick.

Siberian senator Igor Chernishev suggested women who could not afford expensive imported lipstick could opt for the ‘natural look’ or even use beetroot as an alternative to make-up.

Mr Chernishev, who represents the city of Tomsk, wrote on a Russian website: ‘Women can live without imported lipstick, men like a natural look.

‘And if they really must use make-up on the lips – there’s no problem, they can use beetroot. It’s natural and chemicals don’t enter the body.’

The senator also claimed that Russian women had no need to buy expensive imported underwear. ‘Our women will look better in lingerie made in Moscow than in France,’ he said.

It comes as Barack Obama warned President Vladimir Putin was at the centre of ‘a huge economic contraction’ due to the Ukraine crisis.

Speaking to CNN yesterday [SUN] Obama rejected suggestions he had been ‘outmanoeuvred’ by Putin.

He said: ‘Right now, he’s presiding over the collapse of his currency, a major financial crisis and a huge economic contraction.

‘That doesn’t sound like somebody who has rolled me or the United States of America.’

The EU and the US have imposed a series of economic sanctions on Russia, and the financial crisis there has seen the rouble halve in just a few months.

The effects of the crisis are being felt not just within the country, but further afield too, with France’s ski resorts reporting a dip in super-rich and middle class Russians visiting tourist destinations.

Falling Russian tourism has also been reported in Austria, Germany, Cyprus, as well as in the UK.

Russian carrier Aeroflot has suspended its weekly flights from Moscow to Innsbruck reflecting the fall in demand reported by Austrian hoteliers.

In Germany’s Oberbayern region in Bavaria, the number of Russian visitors fell nearly 4.5 per cent from January to September compared to the same period in 2013, according to Bayerische Rundschau TV.

The local statistics office reported a 20 percent decline in September alone versus the same month a year ago.

Increasing political tensions and the falling rouble have been cited by tourism chiefs as reasons why Russians might not be travelling so much this season, resulting in less enthusiasm and less financial freedom to visit EU nations.

Carole Genevray, marketing director for Comete Conseil, said the main cause of the decline was ‘geopolitical reasons’.

She said: ‘We’ve received fewer reservations from Russian clients this year. We can draw parallels with what happened on the coast this summer, where they too were less present.’

Adeline Roux, director of the tourism office in Courchevel, in the French Alps, told France’s i-Tele that the decline in Russian guests could be long-lasting.

She said: ‘Depending on the evolution of the crisis that Russia now faces, we run the risk especially of facing an impact next winter (too).

（來源：中國日報愛新聞iNews 編輯：丹妮）