Russia Far Less Generous to Its Veterans on Victory Day than are Other Post-Soviet Countries

Paul Goble

            Staunton, May 11 – No country has spent more than the Russian Federation on public spectacles on the occasion of Victory Day this year or proclaimed more loudly its support for those who contributed to the defeat of Hitlerism , but many post-Soviet states have been far more generous financially to their veterans – including many which are far poorer than Russia is.

            Journalists at Radio Liberty have compiled a list of cash awards post-Soviet countries gave to surviving World War II veterans this year. As can be seen below, Russia stands far from the top and gave only one-eighth as much as the most generous country, Kazakhstan, did (rus.azattyq.org/a/infographic-rewarding-war-veterans-in-post-soviet-countries/29932777.html).

                The Radio Liberty list, with local currencies converted into US dollars at official rates of exchange, is as follows: Kazakhstan gave 1336 US dollars to each veteran, Uzbekistan 888, Azerbaijan 587, Moldova 558, Kyrgyzstan 215, Tajikistan, 159, Russia 153, Ukraine 20, and Turkmenistan 11.

            These figures need to be put in context, of course. Some of these countries, including Russia, provide far more to veterans in the form of pensions than do those making such one-time payments.  But such payments on holidays, a long-standing Soviet tradition, are a measure, at least in the eyes of the population of just how much a particular government really cares.

            From that perspective, the amounts given by the governments of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, and Moldova are impressive, especially given that per capita incomes in most of these countries are lower than in the Russian Federation. And the figures for Russia, Ukraine and Turkmenistan are especially low, even insulting in the Russian case, given Moscow’s hype.