Many Russian Companies aren’t Paying Workers Because Russian Government isn’t Paying Its Bills

Paul Goble

            Staunton, Nov. 26 – As Putin’s war has continued, the number of workers who are owed wages by their employers has risen, not to the level of the 1990s but enough to be worrisome. But in general, most Russian reports on this have blamed the firms themselves or on other companies which owe them money for the problem.

            But an investigation by the Federal Anti-Monopoly Service finds that a significant part of the problem has been caused by the failure of Russian government firms to pay what they owe in a timely fashion, a sign that the government itself is among the leading causes of this problem (vedomosti.ru/economics/articles/2025/11/24/1157368-biznes-predlozhil-resheniya-dlya-problemi-s-zaderzhkami-oplati-kontraktov-goskompaniyami).

            As this source of the problem of unpaid wages become widely known, many who are suffering because they have not been paid what they are owed are likely to blame the government and not just their employers and the government’s war in Ukraine, a trend that could spark more opposition to Putin and his war.