Zubarevich Lists Seven Consequences of the Pandemic for Russia’s Regions

Paul Goble

            Staunton, April 13 – Natalya Zubarevich, a specialist on regional economics at Moscow State University and perhaps Russia’s leading commentator on the relationship between regional developments and Moscow policies, lists seven consequences of the pandemic for Russia’s regions (theins.ru/opinions/zubarevich/240978).

            They are as follows:

1.      “Industrial development showed the dependence of the regions both on global relations [such as the decline in demand for oil and gas] and on internal factors such as state defense orders.”

2.      In the course of the pandemic, “investment became ever more concentrated in Moscow and the main oil and gas producing regions which defines the future development of the country.”

3.      “Market services more strongly than others suffered in major cities, and that slowed the post-industrial transformation of the economy.”

4.      “The labor market very strongly depends on institutional factors like government policy.”

5.      “The incomes of the population fell significantly, and the government here was almost powerless to do anything about that.”

6.      “The enormous growth of assistance to the budgets of the regions reduced the risk of political consequences on the eve of the next cycle of elections, although not for all regions.”

7.      As a result, “the economy of the regions will only influence politics and electoral outcomes at the margins.”

In her article, she provides statistics in support of each of her conclusions.