Since Putin Came to Power, Moscow’s Military Spending has Risen Seven Times More than Inflation and Become a Major Driver of Price Rises, Analysis Shows

Paul Goble

            Staunton, Mar. 25 – Between the end of 1999 when Vladimir Putin came to power and today, Moscow’s spending on the military has increased 65.2 times, a major reason that inflation has officially risen over the same period by 8.94 times and much more according to unofficial accounts over the same period, Ilya Reykh says.

             The Russian commentator says that this means that Russians are paying twice for Putin’s military expansion, first with their taxes which are slated to rise again and then by the higher prices they are compelled to pay for all goods and services (svoboda.org/a/voyna-po-predoplate-voennye-rashody-razgonyayut-inflyatsiyu-v-rossii/32870008.html).

            Russians are accustomed to Moscow blaming oil prices, Western sanctions, and other factors for inflation; but analysis shows, Reykh says, that the radical increases in military spending over the period of Putin’s rule have played a major role and represents yet another burden he has placed on the Russian population.

            In his article, the Russian economist uses Russian government and foreign government data and shows why many of the most widely accepted explanations for inflation in Russia are at a minimum insufficient and why at the same time military spending in an economy like the Russian one inevitably plays a larger role.

            What that means, he concludes, is that if Putin continues to boost spending on the military, inflation in Russia will rise, putting ever larger burdens on the Russian population, burdens the people will feel but may not blame on military spending unless they pay close attention to the various factors at work.