Putin has the Resources to Help Russia’s Poor But isn’t Using Them, Shelin Says

Paul Goble

            Staunton, April 4 – Vladimir Putin may soon be forced to recall an anecdote from the last years of Soviet power. “What do you call a man who wants to but can’t? a woman is asked. “An impotent.” “And what do you call a man who can but doesn’t want to?” A bastard,” she says, or so the story has it.

            The Russian government has enormous reserves that it could be using to support its own citizens during this difficult time, Rosbalt commentator Sergey Shelin says; but instead of doing that, it has in recent weeks been distributing “a record low” amount of money to support them (rosbalt.ru/blogs/2020/04/03/1836361.html).

            In his second ‘coronavirus’ appeal, Putin outlined three principles of his approach to the crisis: paid leave for a month of isolation, responsibility to be shifted to regional and urban officials who will be held accountable, but,for those who have no work and no money, nothing at all.

Obviously, Moscow doesn’t have the funds to help that the US and Germany have deployed. But it could do something. Slovenia, which has roughly the same per capita income, has just approved an anti-crisis measure of some three billion euros (3.6 billion US dollars), Shelin continues. 

If Russia spent a corresponding amount, that would amount to 200 billion euros (250 billion US dollars). But according to the Russian government, it plans to spend only a fifth of the amount Slovenia is devoting or 600 million euros (8 million dollars), a pittance compared to the need.

            Could Moscow do that? Yes, it has the resources if it wants to use them. But so far, the Rosbalt commentator says, it has shown no willingness to meet even the standard set by Slovenia, let alone that of the US or Germany.  And Shelin then suggests exactly where the money to do so could be found.

            Suspending questionable national projects would give three trillion rubles toward this compelling need. Spending less on arms and the siloviki countless more. And simple budgetary stringency would give five trillion.  It could also take out loans. But it doesn’t now want to do any of that.

             But there is an even more obvious source: the state reserves out of which the total amount could be taken with little loss if the Kremlin wanted to help the people in this time of crisis.  It could also tax the wealthy or even compensate some of their illegally acquired property and then sell it.  But the Putin regime doesn’t want to do any of this.

            It fears offending its prime supporters, it doesn’t want to cut back on foolish projects and the arms race, and it views the various reserve funds as untouchable at least in times of relative peace.  That has all been obvious to economic and political analysts for some time. It will now become clear to the population.

            And as that happens, they may decide that Putin isn’t impotent; he’s a bastard, at least as far as they’re concerned.