...a shortage of sand

So Russia's new territory, Crimea, recycles old ideas;

Officials in the annexed Crimea region plan on creating a state corporation that will organize large deliveries of building materials to the peninsula, a news report said, as the region battles a supply shortage caused by poor relations with Ukraine.

 Or, maybe Milton Friedman (and other wags) were right.

Shipments from the Ukrainian mainland have been restricted since the peninsula was annexed by Russia last year. Crimea is now facing a deficit of sand, crushed stone and high-strength cement, RIA Novosti reported last week.

 Naturally, Crimea's Construction and Architecture Ministry head Sergei Kononov rushes in, as fools always do, to announce;

"To solve the deficit problem and not permit an increase in the cost of building materials … we propose creating a state unitary enterprise with the goal of providing the construction industry with the necessary materials,"

That's sure to work; retard the information given by prices. It has such a great track record.