That was in July, several weeks before the government devalued the ruble and prices soared as Russia plunged into economic crisis. Since then, big plans for Vera's upcoming 40th birthday have evaporated. ``I already know that I won't be able to have such a good birthday party,'' she said glumly.

With few signs that the economy will stabilize soon, many Russians are tightening their belts and falling back on Soviet-era survival skills learned during decades of hardship.

Vera and Sasha don't fear they will go hungry. Instead, they worry about a return to the chronic shortages, long lines and rationing of the past. Old words like `Kartochka,' which means ration card, and `defitsit,' which literally means scarce item, but in the Soviet Union it meant doesn't exist, had been virtually extinct until the latest crisis brought them back to people's lips.

Rationing in Moscow in the Soviet era was common on many items, including butter, sugar, macaroni, vodka and cigarettes. In the provinces, restrictions were even more severe.

``People are afraid,'' said Vera, formerly a factory worker but now employed in a state savings bank. ``We are afraid of rationing again. We don't want lines, she added.

Food is the biggest item in most Russians' budgets, and what goes on the table is usually the first place they feel the pinch in times of economic crisis.

To make ends meet, there are several important rules. Cut back and adjust your diet. Stock up on staples. Get out in the garden. Scrap holidays. Don't get sick.

Sasha, a shop assistant, says ``We don't really have the option of going out and snapping up staples like many Russians are doing these days.'' ``We'd like to stock up on things, but we can't,'' said Vera. We don't have the money, and the prices are unreal.''

Although most aren't panicking, Russians are spending what they can to stock up on rice, spaghetti, oats, flour, sugar and tea.

Russian newspapers have been advising their readers on ways to cope. According to the Komsomolskaya Pravda daily, rice can be kept for three years and the best way to protect potatoes from rotting is to store them in the basement or on an enclosed balcony.

Russian officials say there is little chance people will go hungry. Bread and potatoes make up 50 per cent of the national diet. While the potato crop is expected to be worse than usual, grain supplies are sufficient to guarantee the stores will be stocked with bread.

In order to survive in the Soviet era, Russians relied on what they could grow. More than 40 million people have plots, which as in Soviet times provide the nation with most of its food.

Vera and Sasha don't have a plot, but her parents do and it is essential for their survival. Some people resent the idea that they might have to farm to survive.

``I work all the time,'' said Inna Muranova, a doctor in a Moscow clinic. ``I don't have time to be a farmer.'' To make sure she has enough money for food, Muranova says she won't buy anything new at all until the crisis passes.

``We're in a trance,'' she said. ``We all work. We can't save, and now they want us to be farmers.''