Paul Goble
Staunton, June 12 – Vyacheslav Markhayev, a KPRF Duma deputy from Buryatia, says that Moscow’s failed policies over the last 25 years, precisely how long Vladimir Putin has been in power, have left Russia in a situation where the danger of a social explosion is increasingly likely unless changes are made.
The deputy’s sharp words (t.me/markhaev_official/2651reposted at echofm.online/documents/deputat-gosdumy-ot-buryatii-vyacheslav-marhaev-strana-nahoditsya-na-grani-soczialnogo-vzryva) have attracted widespread attention and even support.
(For examples, see nemoskva.net/2026/06/12/deputat-gosdumy-marhaev-potreboval-publichnyj-plan-zaversheniya-vojny/, novayagazeta.eu/articles/2026/06/12/deputat-gosdumy-raskritikoval-politiku-vlastei-sravnil-ikh-s-vneshnimi-vragami-i-zaiavil-chto-rossii-nuzhen-publichnyi-plan-zaversheniia-voiny-news and ru.themoscowtimes.com/2026/06/12/deputat-dumi-otkprf-zayavil-obugroze-sotsialnogo-vzriva-ineobhodimosti-plana-zaversheniya-svo-a198035.)
Markhayev begins his attack by pointing to the “relentless attacks by Ukrainian forces on our cities” and the Kremlin’s failure to call off the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum as it had earlier called off the May 9 Victory Day parade, a sign that those in power simply want to “project the illusion of prosperity” when there is “a lack of genuine achievements” – except for “the personal enrichment of the elite.”
“In recent years, numerous development programs and strategies have been drafted for every sector of the Russian economy., Markhayev continues; “but virtually none have been implemented; they remain merely on paper or in declarations made from international podiums. Instead we continue to face new bans, restrictions, and burdens.”
For example, he says, “utility rates have surged by 366% over the past 25 years … pensioner who receives 22,000 rubles a month is thus forced to spend 12,000 on utilities alone. Infrastructure inherited from the USSR is crumbling while funds are diverted yachts, palaces, and overseas assets.”
While most Russians are suffering, Markhayev says, “the pockets of government officials and the inner circle of the elite remain full. According to 2026 Forbes data, the number of Russian billionaires hit a record high of 155, with a combined net worth of nearly $700 billion—a figure one and a half times the size of the federal budget.”
Moreover, “Embezzlement running into the billions, the arrest of officials at all levels, and the seizure of assets worth a trillion rubles annually—this is the reality. This trajectory is largely a legacy of the 1990s, when the country endured the wholesale plundering of state property.”
“What would a foreign enemy do if it conquered Russia?” Markhayev asks thetorically. “It would appropriate resources, loot industry, hike up utility rates, and build itself mansions. Yet no invasion occurred; the authorities accomplished this themselves—more effectively than any aggressor.”
In fact, the deputy continues, “not a single successful reform has been implemented in 35 years, while oligarchs continue to multiply and amass wealth—even now, in the fifth year of ‘the Special Military Operation,’” in which Russia is “losing the most active and reproductive segments of its people due to incompetent leadership.”
And he warns in conclusion that “If this situation persists, a social explosion and chaos become increasingly likely. The West will inevitably exploit this to finish off the remnants of Russian statehood. The same team has led the political system for a quarter of a century, yet appears to have largely lost touch with the people's needs.”
“Present-day Russia has existed for half as long as the Soviet Union did, yet the only ones who can boast of progress are the oligarchs and their inner circle—less than 5% of the population … The time for illusions has passed. The country is on the verge of a social explosion, and the entire responsibility for this will rest with the entrenched leadership.”
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