Inflation in Russia has surged to its highest level in 23 years, with a particularly sharp rise in food prices, a dynamic that hits lower-income Russians the hardest. Consumer prices in Russia rose 7.61 percent in March, the biggest monthly jump since 1999, according to Rosstat, the official state statistics agency. In over-the-year terms, inflation rose 16.7 percent, its highest level in around seven years. While the number is largely in line with economists’ expectations, it’s around four times higher than the Russian central bank’s target of four percent. Rosstat’s inflation data release came as Russia’s central bank dropped its key interest rate by 3 percent to a still-high 17 percent. The Bank of Russia justified the move by saying that risks to financial stability had softened as emergency measures brought deposits back to banks and helped quell inflationary pressures. While the central bank said it expects inflation to continue …