I never understood the Russian shopping system. Lots of those lines were not for scarce goods (after all, once the ‘scarce’ good was gone, you might as well go home) but because of the involved shopping system. You select the item and get a receipt, you go to another line to pay for it, then back again in line to show your receipt and pick up the item. Insane.
btw - if you want to see real Russian insanity, look at what’s happening with the drug ‘krokodil.’ Heroin addicts can’t afford heroin, so they make a homemade killer drug that eats away the flesh.
Very graphic, not for squeamish:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Yfd_7jrnMk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cM6v-43-1PU
If you tell me how one would shoplift given such a system, then I will guess why such a system exists.
There may also be a rationing element involved. Perhaps you only get to buy a certain amount for each wait in line. This might be similar to the rationing for items like newly released Iphones.